Full Description
2020 Wall Street Journal Holiday Gift Books Selection
Today the salary cap is an NBA institution, something fans take for granted as part of the fabric of the league or an obstacle to their favorite team's chances to win a championship. In the early 1980s, however, a salary cap was unheard of. The Cap is a first-of-its-kind depiction of the high-stakes negotiations over the proposed NBA salary cap in 1982-83 and all of the twists and turns through the decades that led the NBA and its players to a novel settlement. From lawsuits filed by its biggest stars to attacks from rival leagues to a messy and unsatisfying relationship with television to a general atmosphere of labor unrest in professional sports, the NBA was undeniably at a crossroads by the early 1980s. With the league led by ascendant David Stern and the players union led by the vastly underappreciated Larry Fleisher, these negotiations occurred amid a tumultuous landscape complete with meddling (and sometimes incompetent) owners and players' growing influence.
The Cap is a compelling story that involves notable players, colorful owners, visionary league and union officials, and a sport trying to solidify a bright future despite a turbulent past and present.
Contents
Introduction
Persons of Note in the 1982-1983 NBA Collective Bargaining Negotiations
1. No Final Victories
2. Pleasantries and Unpleasantries, July 1982
3. Survivors, August 1982
4. That Brave Group of Guys Who Said "Fuck You," January 1964
5. Larry
6. The Sport of the '70s
7. The Cap, 1979-1980
8. The Right of First Refusal, Summer 1981
9. David
10. The Moses Signing, September 1982
11. The Big Item, October 1982
12. Strike Date, January 1983
13. War, February 1983
14. Unbounded Pessimism and Cautious Optimism, March 1983
15. Peace, April 1983
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
Index
