The Best Sports Books

Trevor Moawad (1973–2021) was an acclaimed mental conditioning coach and coauthor of It Takes What It Takes: Lessons from a Lifetime of Winning. He specialized in optimizing elite performance through neuroscience-backed strategies.

With coauthor Andy Staples, a veteran sports journalist and former Sports Illustrated writer, this motivational work distills Moawad’s "neutral thinking" philosophy. This philosophy was used by NFL stars like Russell Wilson, NCAA championship coaches, and U.S. Special Operations teams.

In 2017, Sports Illustrated recognized Moawad as one of the "Sports World’s Best Brain Trainer." He cofounded Limitless Minds and advised across MLB, NBA, and UFC. Staples brought insider perspectives from more than 15 years covering college football.

The book’s performance psychology framework—featured in ESPN’s QB2QB series and the Garage to Goliath podcast—remains foundational for coaches and executives mastering decision-making under pressure. Moawad’s methodologies continue shaping champions, with his playbook adopted by 8 national championship teams and military leadership programs.

1. Neutral thinking replaces positivity with judgment-free fact-based responses.
2. Elite performers succeed by focusing only on controllable variables.
3. Visualize execution over outcomes to build pressure-proof mental resilience.
4. Past failures aren’t predictive if you refuse to dwell on them.
5. Champions behave as if they have no choice but to act.
6. Eliminate “what if” negativity by grounding decisions in current reality.
7. Detailed planning neutralizes anxiety by converting uncertainty into action steps.
8. Success hinges on managing reactions, not avoiding difficult circumstances.
9. Neutral thinkers outperform optimists in high-stakes decision-making scenarios.
10. Self-leadership precedes team leadership—master your mindset before guiding others.

Michael Monroe Lewis, the bestselling author of Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, is renowned for his incisive explorations of finance, sports, and behavioral economics. Born in New Orleans in 1960, Lewis earned an art history degree from Princeton and a master’s from the London School of Economics.

Following his academic pursuits, Lewis embarked on a Wall Street career at Salomon Brothers. This experience inspired his debut exposé, Liar’s Poker. His subsequent works, including The Big Short and The Blind Side, dissect systemic inefficiencies and highlight underdog triumphs, blending narrative depth with analytical rigor.

Moneyball revolutionized sports literature by chronicling the Oakland Athletics’ data-driven baseball strategy. This work reflects Lewis’s talent for translating complex systems into compelling stories. A contributing editor to Vanity Fair, Lewis has sold millions of books, several of which have been adapted into Oscar-winning films like The Blind Side (2009) and Moneyball (2011).

His recent works, including Going Infinite, continue to challenge conventional wisdom across industries. Moneyball remains a cultural touchstone, adapted into a film starring Brad Pitt, and is taught in business and sports management programs worldwide.

1. Use sabermetrics to exploit undervalued player stats like on-base percentage.
2. Challenge baseball’s traditional scouting with data-driven decision-making to find hidden talent.
3. Small budgets win by prioritizing run creation over star-player acquisition.
4. Billy Beane’s Oakland A’s proved market inefficiencies outweigh financial disadvantages.
5. Shift focus from batting averages to walks and slugging percentages.
6. Data analytics reveal player value invisible to conventional wisdom or biases.
7. Team success hinges on buying wins through runs, not celebrity athletes.
8. Sabermetrics democratized baseball strategy by replacing gut instincts with quantifiable metrics.
9. Michael Lewis exposes how underdogs outsmart wealthy teams through systemic innovation.
10. Embrace organizational flexibility to avoid overpaying for replaceable skills or traits.
11. The 2002 A’s demonstrated resourcefulness beats resources in competitive systems.
12. Baseball’s analytics revolution began with rejecting RBI and stolen base myths.

Mike Sielski, award-winning sports columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer and author of The Rise: Kobe Bryant and the Pursuit of Immortality, combines immersive storytelling with deep journalistic rigor in this definitive basketball biography. A 2015 Associated Press Sports Editors “Top Sports Columnist” honoree, Sielski specializes in chronicling athletic ambition and legacy, drawing from his decades covering Philadelphia sports and teaching journalism at La Salle University.

His critically acclaimed works include Fading Echoes: A True Story of Rivalry and Brotherhood from the Football Field to the Fields of Honor and the upcoming cultural history Magic in the Air: The Myth, the Mystery, and the Soul of the Slam Dunk.

A Columbia Journalism School graduate and regular analyst on Sports Radio 94 WIP, Sielski’s profiles have been anthologized in The Best American Sports Writing. The Rise stands out for its unprecedented access to Bryant’s high school archives and rare interviews, cementing Sielski’s reputation for unearthing the human dimension behind sports icons. The book became a New York Times bestseller within two weeks of its 2022 release.

1. Joe Bryant’s Italian basketball career crucially shaped Kobe’s global mindset
2. 5 AM training sessions defined Kobe’s pre-NBA obsession with mastery
3. Lower Merion’s 1996 championship run redefined prep basketball legacies
4. Kobe’s high school tapes reveal unrelenting self-critique as success catalyst
5. Philly playground ethos fueled Bryant’s ruthless competitiveness from age 12
6. Sielski’s exclusive interviews expose Kobe’s calculated Lakers draft strategy
7. Father-son dynamic blended mentorship with unspoken athletic legacy pressure
8. Bryant’s “immortality” pursuit began with Italian league dominance at 13
9. 1995 Adidas ABCD Camp showdowns cemented Kobe’s pre-draft MVP status
10. Teenage journal entries blueprint Bryant’s psychological warfare tactics
11. Lower Merion coaches reframed isolation as leadership laboratory experiment
12. Sielski contrasts Bryant’s curated persona with raw high school ambition

David Epstein, bestselling author of The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance, is an award-winning investigative journalist and science writer renowned for exploring the interplay of genetics, training, and human potential.

A Columbia University graduate with master’s degrees in environmental science and journalism, Epstein combines rigorous scientific analysis with compelling storytelling. His work at Sports Illustrated—including breaking the Alex Rodriguez steroid scandal—and investigative reporting at ProPublica established his expertise in uncovering complex truths.

The #1 New York Times bestseller Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World (2019), his follow-up to The Sports Gene, further cemented his reputation for challenging conventional wisdom about skill development.

Epstein’s TED Talks on athletic performance and specialization have amassed over 12 million views, and he previously hosted Slate’s How To! podcast. Translated into more than 30 languages, The Sports Gene has sparked global debates on nature versus nurture in sports and beyond.

1. David Epstein challenges the 10,000-hour rule through genetic advantages in elite sports performance
2. Athletes self-select sports where their innate physical gifts create outsized competitive edges
3. Deliberate practice matters most for sport-specific skills rather than raw athletic talent
4. Jamaican sprint dominance stems from cultural systems amplifying rare genetic speed potential
5. Visual acuity differences create unseen advantages in baseball batting and archery
6. The "sports gene" myth ignores complex gene-environment interactions shaping athletic success
7. Body proportions like Achilles tendon length determine natural advantages in specific sports
8. Kenyan distance running excellence emerges from altitude adaptation plus cultural reinforcement
9. Genetic testing reveals why some athletes thrive on minimal training while others plateau
10. Epstein proves elite athletes represent genetic outliers refined through targeted skill development
11. The 10,000-hour rule fails in sports requiring anatomical specialization over learned expertise
12. "Deliberate practice" creates perceptual expertise making game-speed decisions feel like slow motion

C.J. Mahaney, author of Don’t Waste Your Sports, is a respected pastor, Christian leadership authority, and bestselling author specializing in practical theology. As founding president of Sovereign Grace Ministries and senior pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville, Mahaney brings decades of experience guiding believers to align their daily lives with biblical principles. His works, including The Cross-Centered Life and Humility: True Greatness, emphasize gospel-centered living across topics like marriage, spiritual disciplines, and personal growth—a theme extended in Don’t Waste Your Sports, which explores how athletes can glorify God through competition.

A prominent voice in evangelical circles, Mahaney co-founded the Together for the Gospel conference and serves on boards for the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals and the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

His relatable style blends theological depth with actionable advice, reflected in other titles like Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God. Mahaney’s books, widely used in church discipleship programs, have established him as a trusted resource for integrating faith into everyday pursuits. He and his wife Carolyn, married since 1975, have three daughters and twelve grandchildren.

1. Sports reveal human pride but can be redeemed as worship.
2. Athletic success becomes idolatry when self-glory replaces God’s glory.
3. Gratitude and humility transform sports into spiritual disciplines.
4. Parents must prioritize godly character over athletic achievements.
5. The gospel offers power to overcome sin in competition.
6. 1 Corinthians 10:31 reorients sports around eternal purposes.
7. Thanking God post-game combats entitlement and pride.
8. Sports act as a classroom for refining Christlike humility.
9. Serve teammates and opponents to reflect God’s love.
10. C.J. Mahaney links athletic passion to soul stewardship.
11. Pre-game prayer anchors athletes in dependence on God.
12. Winning loses eternal value without eternal perspective.

Steven Kotler, New York Times-bestselling author of The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance, is a leading expert in peak performance and flow states. A Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist and cofounder of the Flow Research Collective, Kotler combines neuroscience and extreme sports to explore human potential in this nonfiction work. His background as an award-winning journalist and entrepreneur informs his analysis of how athletes achieve extraordinary feats through altered states of consciousness.

Kotler has coauthored multiple influential books like Abundance and Bold with Peter H. Diamandis, and Stealing Fire with Jamie Wheal, all examining innovation and transformative performance. His work appears in The New York Times Magazine, Wired, and Harvard Business Review, and he advises Fortune 100 companies and special operations units on flow science.

The Rise of Superman has been translated into over 60 languages and cited as essential reading by athletes, CEOs, and productivity experts worldwide. Kotler’s research continues shaping high-performance training programs across industries.

1. Flow states trigger neurochemical surges that boost focus, creativity, and pain tolerance.
2. Challenge-skill balance acts as the primary gateway to entering flow states.
3. Action sports athletes leverage flow to smash perceived biological performance limits.
4. Flow deactivates the prefrontal cortex to enhance instinct-driven superhuman performance.
5. Rich environments with novelty and complexity accelerate flow state activation.
6. Deep embodiment—full sensory awareness—anchors athletes in present-moment flow execution.
7. The Flow Genome Project decodes optimal consciousness for peak performance.
8. Clear goals and immediate feedback create ideal neurochemical flow conditions.
9. Growth mindset reframes "limits" as trainable skill-development opportunities.
10. Flow triggers time distortion enabling millisecond-level reaction speeds.
11. Neurochemical flow cocktail (dopamine, endorphins, anandamide) enhances learning retention.
12. Flow mastery transforms ordinary effort into exponential capability growth.

Dean Karnazes, ultramarathon legend and New York Times bestselling author of 50/50, has redefined human endurance through feats like running 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days across all 50 U.S. states.

A sports memoir blending athleticism and introspection, the book explores themes of perseverance, self-discovery, and the science of sustained performance—themes rooted in Karnazes’ 30-year career conquering events like the Badwater Ultramarathon and a marathon to the South Pole.

Known for earlier works like Ultramarathon Man and A Runner’s High, which inspired a global running movement, Karnazes has been featured on 60 Minutes, The Today Show, and NPR, and profiled in TIME (which named him among the “100 Most Influential People”), Runner’s World, and Men’s Fitness. His ESPY Award and three “Endurance Athlete of the Year” titles underscore his authority.

50/50 distills lessons from Karnazes’ 350-mile nonstop runs and his mission to combat youth obesity through athletic activism.

1. Dean Karnazes’ 10% rule prevents injury during marathon training buildup
2. Adapt pacing strategy hourly to conquer extreme heat or elevation changes
3. Sleep four hours nightly to balance endurance recovery with back-to-back races
4. Mental resilience trumps physical limits when pushing through 50 consecutive marathons
5. Crew support networks make multi-state endurance challenges logistically achievable
6. Carb-load with pizza mid-run to sustain 160,000-calorie marathon campaigns
7. Trail variety prevents overuse injuries during high-volume endurance experiments
8. Embrace discomfort as fuel to push beyond “the wall” in marathons
9. Sub-four-hour marathon pacing requires precise hydration and electrolyte management
10. Cross-training with cycling maintains cardio while reducing running joint impact
11. Dean’s state-by-state marathon approach makes ultra-endurance relatable for casual runners
12. Post-marathon ice baths accelerate muscle recovery for next-day race readiness

Andre Agassi, author of the memoir Open, is a legendary tennis champion and one of only five men to achieve the career Grand Slam across all four major tournaments. His raw, introspective autobiography delves into themes of resilience, identity, and redemption, reflecting his tumultuous journey from child prodigy pressured into tennis stardom to his evolution into a globally revered athlete.

With eight Grand Slam titles—including dramatic comeback victories at the French Open and U.S. Open—Agassi’s career spanned 20 years, marked by iconic rivalries with Pete Sampras and a 1996 Olympic gold medal.

Once known for his rebellious image and "Image is Everything" persona, Agassi’s later career saw him rebrand as a disciplined competitor, reclaiming the world No. 1 ranking after plummeting to 141st post-injury. Beyond tennis, he founded a charter school in Las Vegas and remains an advocate for education reform.

Open became an instant bestseller, lauded for its unflinching honesty about fame, depression, and self-reinvention. Translated into 18 languages, the memoir resonates with athletes and non-athletes alike, offering universal lessons on overcoming adversity.

1. Andre Agassi’s rebellion against tennis masked a lifelong struggle with identity and purpose
2. True resilience means rebuilding from rock bottom—Agassi’s comeback from #141 to #1 proves it
3. Winning Grand Slams couldn’t heal Agassi’s self-doubt until he embraced tennis as his reluctant home
4. Fashion became Agassi’s silent rebellion against his father’s blueprint and tennis’s rigid traditions
5. Drug use and burnout reveal the psychological toll of childhood prodigy pressure in elite sports
6. Agassi’s career Grand Slam shows triumph isn’t linear—losses linger longer than wins in competitive minds
7. “Tennis mirrors life” – Agassi’s metaphor for advantage, fault, and turning points in personal growth
8. Coaching transformed Agassi’s game at 33: strategic patience replaced youthful brute-force groundstrokes
9. The 1999 French Open win epitomizes comebacks—losing two sets before claiming career-defining glory
10. Open exposes the paradox of hating your craft while mastering it through grit and repetition
11. Agassi’s 26-match streak and four Australian Open wins redefine aging athletes’ potential in sports
12. Perfectionism’s prison: Agassi’s journey from burnout to balanced success through selective shot-making

Steve Siebold, author of 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class, is a bestselling self-help expert and globally recognized authority on psychological performance. A former professional athlete turned mental toughness coach, Siebold combines 30+ years of research interviewing over 1,300 millionaires and elite performers with hands-on experience training Fortune 500 teams at companies like Toyota and Procter & Gamble.

His work in personal development and wealth psychology focuses on reshaping thought patterns to achieve peak performance, a theme central to his international bestselling books like Die Fat or Get Tough and How Rich People Think.

Siebold’s insights have been featured on The Today Show, Good Morning America, and BBC Television, while his Certified Professional Speaker (CSP) credential underscores his prominence in the industry. As founder of Mental Toughness University, he’s trained over 25,000 professionals worldwide. 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class has sold 100,000+ copies and been translated into 12 languages, cementing its status as a foundational text in performance psychology.

1. World-class performers separate emotions from decisions using strategic logic over feelings.
2. Mental toughness grows through disciplined daily habits and embracing adversity as growth fuel.
3. Champions create a non-negotiable vision compelling enough to persist through any obstacle.
4. Steve Siebold’s elite thinkers replace “hope” with unshakable certainty in their success systems.
5. Facilitated introspection drives world-class leadership by aligning actions with core fighting values.
6. Top performers compartmentalize fear and pressure using emotional control tactics under stress.
7. Siebold’s coaching method prioritizes ruthless self-evaluation and adaptive learning over talent.
8. World-class belief systems treat money as a tool for freedom rather than a reward.
9. Champions negotiate win-win outcomes by operating from abundance mindsets, not scarcity.
10. 177 Mental Toughness Secrets reframes failure as data for iterative improvement, not defeat.
11. Elite achievers visualize goals obsessively and block distractions with military precision.
12. Siebold’s “ferocious cooperation” principle leverages team synergy over solo heroics for success.

Jim Steele is the author of Unashamedly Superhuman and a visionary leader in scaling transformative business growth.

Drawing from his 46-year career spanning tech giants like IBM and Salesforce, Steele’s work blends leadership strategies with insights on personal and organizational potential. The book, rooted in professional development and innovation, reflects his expertise in driving Salesforce’s revenue from $22 million to $5 billion as President of Global Strategic Customers.

A pioneer in digital platforms, Steele spearheaded initiatives like the AppExchange and digital cinema networks, merging technological disruption with human-centric solutions. His talks and podcast appearances, including The Platform Journey, distill lessons from partnering with Fortune 500 companies and startups.

Unashamedly Superhuman distills his philosophy of leveraging ambition and adaptability to redefine success, cementing Steele’s legacy as a bridge between enterprise evolution and individual empowerment.

1. Treat recovery as a performance strategy to prevent burnout long-term.
2. Master cortisol reduction and oxytocin boosts for stress resilience.
3. Jim Steele’s Better-Smarter-Stronger framework unlocks peak productivity.
4. Cold water science increases mental toughness and focus thresholds.
5. Flow state activation triples output while eliminating mental clutter.
6. Neurochemical habit hacking beats willpower for lasting behavior change.
7. Purpose-driven goals outperform vague aspirations in sustaining motivation.
8. Sleep optimization proves 30% more impactful than time management hacks.
9. Physiological anchoring techniques override chronic stress responses.
10. Eisenhower Matrix 2.0 filters noise from true priority tasks.
11. “Challenge sweet spot” balancing pushes limits without frustration.
12. Mindset-physiology alignment creates compound performance improvements.