Inaugural Ballers: The True Story of the First US Women's Olympic Basketball Team

Written by Andrew Maraniss

Narrated by Nicole Lewis

From the New York Times bestselling author of Strong Inside comes the inspirational true story of the birth of women’s Olympic basketball at the 1976 Summer Games and the ragtag team that put US women’s basketball on the map. Perfect for fans of Steve Sheinkin and Daniel James Brown.

A League of Their Own meets Miracle in the inspirational true story of the first US Women’s Olympic Basketball team and their unlikely rise to the top.
 
Twenty years before women’s soccer became an Olympic sport and two decades before the formation of the WNBA, the ’76 US women’s basketball team laid the foundation for the incredible rise of women’s sports in America at the youth, collegiate, Olympic, and professional levels.
 
Though they were unknowns from small schools such as Delta State, the University of Tennessee at Martin and John F. Kennedy College of Wahoo, Nebraska, at the time of the ’76 Olympics, the American team included a roster of players who would go on to become some of the most legendary figures in the history of basketball. From Pat Head, Nancy Lieberman, Ann Meyers, Lusia Harris, coach Billie Moore, and beyond—these women took on the world and proved everyone wrong.  
 
Packed with thoroughly researched details about the beginnings of US women’s basketball, Inaugural Ballers is the fascinating story of the women who paved the way for girls everywhere.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Sep 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9780593630969

Andrew Maraniss

Andrew Maraniss is the New York Times–bestselling author of Strong Inside, the only sports-related book ever to win two prestigious civil rights awards—the Lillian Smith Book Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Book Awards Special Recognition Prize. Andrew is a contributor to ESPN's sports and race website, TheUndefeated.com, and helps run Vanderbilt University's Sports & Society Initiative. He also writes nonfiction for young readers.

Reviews for Inaugural Ballers

[victoriagd · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

She was a Visionary

Andrew Maraniss writes about the forgotten history of women’s basketball, focusing on what lead up to the first Woman’s Olympics in 1976. This book is a brief history of the creation of basketball, and how women have been a part of this sport from the beginning. Andrew Maraniss brings together stories of women who fought for the inclusion of women in sports, and how basketball helped women prove they could play sports. All leading to the Olympics recognizing women’s basketball as a competitive sport. Filled with wonderful black-and-white pictures of the events in the book.

Andrew Maraniss jumps around through eras, sometimes in confusing leaps, highlighting some of the important milestones that finally allowed women to freely compete in basketball. This is not just a book about the history of women’s basketball, but a history of feminism. A history of women from 1891 to 1976, which is a lot to cover in one book. From winning the vote, to the birth of feminism, to funding sports, to foreign politics. All intermixed with the introductions of some of the key players of the ’76 US women’s basketball team. Though briefly touched on, the difficult political climates during these times show the real struggle that women overcame to play the sport they loved.

In this book there are heavy introductions to feminism, gender disparity, racism, global poverty, gender identity, and mentions of homophobia. Often interjecting such footnotes after each chapter as a reminder that despite impressive wins, they are not inclusive to every social issue of the time. Again, these are points in history and current social issues that should be explored further outside the brief summaries in this book.

The final lead up to forming of the US women’s Olympic team is a grueling test of endurance and commitment from all the basketball players who were chosen. There is no doubt that each of them worked their hardest to participate and win. Overall, there are a lot of heavy issues that the reader must interpret for themselves, and hopefully explore further.