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The James Altucher Show

When the Game Was War: A Journey Back to the NBA's Greatest Season | Rich Cohen

The James Altucher Show

James Altucher

Education, Business

4.62.7K Ratings

🗓️ 7 September 2023

⏱️ 72 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Step into the world of the 1987-88 NBA season with author Rich Cohen as he discusses his new book, "When the Game Was War: The NBA's Greatest Season," with James. In this seminal season, Hall of Famers spanned the entire history of the league, from Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who played with players that existed before the NBA, to young talents like Reggie Miller and Scotty Pippen. It was also the time when Cohen fell in love with pro basketball, ignited by game six of the 1988 NBA Finals. The Detroit Pistons were on the brink of closing out the Lakers and making history, but Isaiah Thomas had other plans. Despite rolling his ankle, he delivered a performance for the ages, scoring an incredible 25 points in the third quarter alone-a playoff record that still stands.The core of the book narrows down to four games that encapsulated the era's four dynasties-Magic Johnson's Los Angeles Lakers, Larry Bird's Boston Celtics, Isiah Thomas' Detroit Pistons, and Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. These teams went to "war" with each other, their skirmishes defining the era. By the time you get to the fourth game in the book, Cohen promises you'll know every player on the floor. This episode offers a deep dive into the emotional gravity of the season that connected fans like never before.Whether you're an ardent NBA follower or a casual fan, this episode with Rich Cohen is a must-listen. It will evoke nostalgia, inspire you with stories of perseverance and skill, and offer a masterclass on the art of storytelling and sports history.------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book Skip the Line is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltucher.com/podcast.------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe  to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsStitcheriHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on Social Media:YouTubeTwitterFacebook ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to "The James Altucher Show" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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0:00.0

This isn't your average business podcast and he's not your average host.

0:07.0

This is the James Altiger show.

0:17.7

Some of the interests, well actually when I got to know you was when I wrote the Rolling

0:22.7

Stones book and I taking guitar lessons when I was a kid and I got back into it because

0:26.4

I wanted to try to play those songs that I was writing about.

0:29.6

And how did it work out?

0:30.6

Did you learn the songs?

0:32.7

I realized it was so good that I hadn't played guitar when I was in college because

0:37.9

all I would have done is get high and play guitar.

0:41.2

That's it.

0:42.2

Yeah.

0:43.2

You know, it took a more adult less addictive personality, so it's so fun.

0:49.0

You know, in such a good way to sort of see how simple most of these songs actually

0:53.8

are.

0:54.8

You know, and how it's the same song kind of over and over again.

0:59.5

In what sense?

1:00.5

Because they have like similar chords, but I remember it being from the Rolling Stones.

1:06.5

I think it was, I can't, I'm probably going to get the song strong, but I think Bill

1:11.6

Wyman came in with the riff for like maybe it was Brown Sugar, it was one of those songs

1:17.2

which is unusual for Bill Wyman and they were all excited and they played it and Keith

1:20.4

Richard just said you recognize it, don't you?

1:22.4

It's just honky chocolate woman backwards.

...

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