BASKETBALL IQ is about the game inside the game, proving that basketball is conceptual—full of complicated plays and strategy, team work and timing.
Spectators relate to basketball through ferocious dunks and clutch three pointers. But players and students of the game realize that basketball is a theory of movement.
Like chess, basketball involves strategy and calculation. Players study their rivals on film like grandmasters rehearsing famous chess matches—they memorize plays like chess players study openings. ESPN’s Zach Lowe referred to Lebron James in 2017 as “the queen of the chessboard,” suggesting he is the league’s most powerful player. Basketball IQ proves this metaphor has a deeper meaning.
Forthcoming from ALGONQUIN BOOKS, 2026.
