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The Miracle of Team
The Miracle of Team

The Miracle of Team

By Dan Grunfeld

SPORTS & RECREATION

288 Pages, 6 x 9

Formats: Cloth

Cloth, $30.00 (CA $40.00) (US $30.00)

ISBN 9798898550325

Rights: WOR

Triumph Books (Feb 2027)

Not yet published. Ships 2/2/2027.
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9798898550325
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Overview

An electrifying and poignant case study in overachievement, detailing one of the most improbable success stories in college basketball history

For a magical, unforgettable stretch of time, the Stanford University men's basketball team simply forgot how to lose. The 2003-2004 squad shattered all expectations, racing to a mind-blowing 26-straight wins — many against powerhouse programs with superior talent — punctuated by a series of heroic finishes that still capture the public’s imagination twenty years later. 
 
The true improbability of that season is magnified through an examination of the people: the players from different cities, of various races and religions, and of contrasting socioeconomic backgrounds who figured out how to win together, and who then couldn’t stop winning together.
 

There was the fatherless star from Compton — epic afro and all — who found strength and love in a powerful mother and three demanding brothers. The white guard from Illinois, abandoned by his 
mother at age five, whose father slept on the couch of a tiny apartment in a rich suburb so his son could attend the state’s best high school. The bi-racial Mormon missionary from Missouri, known as “Pops” because of his advanced age relative to his teammates. The harmonica-playing, mustache-sporting, Birkenstock-wearing hippie from Sacramento. The future NFL wide receiver who played basketball on the side.

And there was Dan Grunfeld, the Jewish kid from the suburbs of New York City, the son of the only player in NBA history whose parents survived the Holocaust. Grunfeld details the incredible upsets, wild comebacks, and unforgettable buzzer beaters, while deeply examining the values at play that allowed the whole to be much greater than the sum of its parts. 

The Miracle of Team recounts an epic sports journey that is equal parts entertaining, enlightening, and inspiring.

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Author Biography

Dan Grunfeld
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Dan Grunfeld was a two-time Academic All-American as a member of Stanford University's men's basketball team. He played eight professional seasons in top leagues around the world, including a year in Germany, three in Spain, and four in Israel, with a brief stint in the NBA for the New York Knicks. Grunfeld received his MBA from Stanford, and his writing has appeared in outlets including Sports Illustrated, Huffington Post, Jerusalem Post, and SBNation. He is the author of By The Grace of the Game: The Holocaust, a Basketball Legacy, and an Unprecedented American Dream.