GRAPHIC MEMOIR
Wish I Was a Baller
Scholastic / Graphix • 2025
In 1995, fourteen-year-old Amar is an aspiring sports journalist and basketball superfan. He talks his way into a press pass at an Orlando Magic game. What followed was the ride of his life: befriending Shaq, hanging with Michael Jordan and the Bulls, and covering the golden era of the NBA, all while surviving high school, crushes, and friendships tainted by jealousy. Illustrated by Rashad Doucet.
"Captures the exhilaration of professional basketball in the 1990s in this energetic, approachable graphic memoir." — Shelf Awareness
"Amar gives a wonderfully delightful recounting of an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience with one of the most iconic sports figures in the world." — Dan Santat, National Book Award winner of A First Time for Everything
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