Rich Cohen - 11/08/23

What It Covers

Writer Rich Cohen discusses his book about the 1987 NBA season, exploring why he considers it basketball's greatest year. The conversation examines how personal memory shapes nostalgia, the relationship between fathers and sons through sports, and whether declaring past eras superior reflects resistance to modernity or genuine historical significance.

Key Questions Answered

• •Self-Help Writing Origins: Writers who create self-help books are addressing their own needs first. Cohen's father wrote "You Can Negotiate Anything" while struggling with the same issues he advised others about, like abandoning mature designs for momentary passions while eating ice cream at 2am. This pattern reveals that effective advice stems from personal struggle, making the guidance authentic because the author genuinely needs to hear it themselves.
• •Nostalgia Versus Historical Assessment: Declaring 1987 the greatest NBA season risks confusing personal memory with objective quality. Cohen acknowledges this tension—he was 19 when four dynasty teams (Celtics, Lakers, Pistons, Bulls) competed, creating formative experiences tied to his father. The challenge for men in their fifties involves distinguishing between genuine historical significance and the desire to freeze time when life felt full of possibility and vitality.
• •Team Identity Through Opposition: The Detroit Pistons developed their physical, aggressive style specifically to defeat the Boston Celtics' dominant frontcourt. Each dynasty shaped itself in response to local threats—the Pistons built two deep rosters to exhaust Celtic starters, creating a competitive ecosystem where teams made each other great. This historical development pattern mirrors how countries become what they are by responding to immediate challenges rather than abstract ideals.
• •Modern Sports Consumption Changes Experience: Immediate access to every highlight and game replay fundamentally alters sports engagement. In 1987, missing a Bulls-Pistons game meant missing it permanently, creating communal live experiences and forcing viewers to fill gaps with imagination. Current fragmented consumption—watching highlights on phones, accessing games anytime—removes the narrative tension that made individual plays exciting after sitting through ninety minutes of buildup.
• •Athletic Evolution Across Generations: Players like Connor Bedard and Victor Wembanyama represent fundamental skill advancement, not just incremental improvement. Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren stand seven-foot-five but dribble like Isaiah Thomas and shoot threes consistently—abilities that seemed impossible in earlier eras. This evolution challenges nostalgia-based arguments, as modern athletes combine size with skills previously exclusive to smaller guards, creating genuinely new athletic possibilities.
• •Character Revelation Through Sports Writing: Effective sports writing balances romanticizing moments with clear-eyed analysis of character flaws. Cohen examines Isaiah Thomas's self-pity and inability to hide resentment, contrasting with Michael Jordan's carefully managed public image that concealed deep grudges. The best sports narratives use athletic moments to reveal universal human struggles with impermanence, identity, and the gap between self-perception and reality.