BLACK BALL: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the Generation that Saved the Soul of the NBA. By Theresa Runstedtler. Advertisement. Bold Type Books, 368 pages, $29.

Young Black men on drugs! Starting fights! Looking to get paid! This was the collective NBA boogeyman of the 1970s and early ’80s, a transitional period in professional basketball and in society.

Theresa Runstedtler’s “Black Ball” recounts the turbulence of the 1970s and ’80s, and the new stars who laid the foundations of modern basketball. Accessibility statement Skip to main content.