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Three Ring Circus by Jeff Pearlman

A good documentary of the dysfunctions that can strike any organization with star employees, and as such this book is both entertaining sports history and useful business history. 

All work teams have jealousies and dramas, but this team had prima donnas all the way down, starting with two all-time MVP prima donnas: Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, whose mutual antagonism broke apart what could have been one of the most dominant teams in sports history.

Notes: 
* "You bring glory to this redneck, one-horse town, and this is what they think of you? Get out as soon as you can. Fuck these people." Charles Barkley to Shaquille O'Neal on his treatment by the Orlando, FL community.  

* "Look at all these people laughing at you. One day we're going to get them back." Shaq to Kobe after Kobe as a rookie launched four straight air balls at the end of a critical playoff game loss, ending the Lakers' season.

* The author wrote this book with more confidence than his prior book Showtime, but the reader is the loser for it. In Three Ring Circus he flings an unfunny witticism at the reader every few pages; see for example this unfortunate dangling modifier: "At the same time the Lakers were trying to make sure Rodman wasn't lying dead in a gutter with three hookers and a needle protruding from his left nipple."

* Kobe as a juvenile narcissist per Phil Jackson, uncoachable, has all the answers, will not listen to anyone, etc. At the same time, he's an unbelievably hard worker, training and working on his game constantly. 

* Fascinating and disturbing to see Kobe's astoundingly naive behavior in front of the Colorado police during sexual assault allegations. Note that the police flat out lied to him without any consequences, but the reverse was not true:


* If you are ever unfortunate enough to find yourself under investigation by law enforcement, the Kobe rape trial gives tremendous advice on what not to do and say. 

* Hard not to have extra respect for (or fear of?) Vanessa Williams after reading this, she was trying to track down her then-husband, Laker forward Rick Fox: 


* And then, depressingly, after three consecutive NBA championships, this entire superteam just disintegrated, with Kobe "I'm tired of being a sidekick" Bryant in conflict with nearly all his teammates, with Shaq leaving the team unable to work with Kobe, with coach Phil Jackson getting fired and then writing a tell-all book right after... the whole thing became a wrecked monument to Kobe's self-absorption.

* Finally, note this book had already been written (and was scheduled for publication) shortly before Kobe Bryant's death. This book is about the young, narcissistic, immature, foolish, arrogant and uncoachable Kobe Bryant, not the statesman-like Kobe Bryant he later grew into. 

To Read: 
Del Harris: On Point, also Winning Defense
Jerry West: West By West
Vanessa Williams: You Have No Idea
Phil Jackson: The Last Season, also Sacred Hoops
Kent Babb: Not a Game: The Incredible Rise and Unthinkable Fall of Allen Iverson
See also: Shaq's surprisingly good freestyle about Kobe Bryant 

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