There's Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib

There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension

by Hanif Abdurraqib

There's Always This Year is a lyrical and profound meditation on basketball, legacy, and belonging from acclaimed poet and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib.

Centered around his experiences growing up in Columbus, Ohio during a golden era of the sport, Abdurraqib uses basketball as a lens to explore deeper questions of identity, aspiration, and community.

Blending personal memoir with social and historical commentary, Abdurraqib reflects on greatness and grief, on what it means to make it—or not—and on how sports both uplift and betray.

With the storytelling power of a poet and the perspective of a historian, he writes with beauty and urgency about fathers, hometowns, and the Black experience in America.

Whether he’s discussing LeBron James or playground jump shots, every page is steeped in truth and meaning.

Awards & Praise:

A #1 National Bestseller and a standout follow-up to A Little Devil in America, which was a National Book Award finalist. Called “mesmerizing” and “the most moving book I’ve ever read” by Hoop Dreams director Steve James. Praised by The Guardian as “powerful” and “visionary.”

Recommended Titles:

Perfect for fans of Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, and Basketball (and Other Things) by Shea Serrano.