First published 2021
Carmelo Anthony opens with his view from a first-floor apartment window in Red Hook, Brooklyn, watching hoopers and hustlers on the streets below. His world extends no further than what he can see from that window. He wants to follow his older brothers and cousin, unable to imagine anything bigger. The housing projects of Red Hook and West Baltimore's Murphy Homes surround him with violence and death. He loses people he loves. Schools ignore him or push him out. He plays basketball on courts littered with vial caps and needles, where dealers stand on one side and kids play jacks on the other. Rims have no nets and players never call fouls. Family keeps him strong. Mentors guide him on the streets and courts. He survives and grows stronger. By 2003, he sits at the NBA Draft in Madison Square Garden, ready to start his professional career. This memoir traces how a kid beaten down by violence, poverty, and racism made it from the projects to basketball stardom.
Genres: family, african-american, crime, autobiography, non-fiction, biography-memoir, basketball, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: overcoming-adversity, rags-to-riches
Setting: Brooklyn, Murphy Homes, Red Hook
Period: 2003, NBA Draft
208 pages · Hardcover · Gallery Books
Content warnings: abuse, racism, violence