Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang

Reviewed by Lauren M.
Grade 11

When most people think of basketball, an image of a basketball, a hoop, and a few star athletes come to mind and that is all. Perhaps some remember a game, and perhaps some remember a name or two. I used to fall into the first group, imagining a non-descript game, usually just a photograph from CNN, and that is all. However, Gene Luen Yang’s newest graphic novel, Dragon Hoops, has completely turned my thinking. Basketball, as it should turn out, is about less than sport and technique and more about teamwork, sacrifice, and commitment.

In the fall of 2014, Gene Yang was at an impasse. He had finished his latest graphic novel and felt the gap in his life. Searching for a new story, he found himself intrigued by all the talk going around his workplace (Bishop O’Dowd High School) about the upcoming basketball season. A hater of sports, he rejected the idea, but soon found himself standing outside Coach Lou Richie’s office, and later, following the team from one game to the next throughout the 2014-15 season as they aimed to finally win the California State Championships after decades of defeat.

Dragon Hoops is structured around the games and the players. Each chapter covers one of the games, a select star member of the team (Bishop O’Dowd Dragons) during that season, their head coach, and their former head coach, with a history of basketball in each non-game chapter. Although character development is minimal and focuses solely on the star players and two coaches, backstories are given along with court dynamics which help the reader understand relationships between the players and coaches. A winning team is not just the players but the attitudes they have towards the game and their teammates--they sacrificed for each other, and encouraged each other until they became one strong organism hurtling toward victory, some having to sacrifice valuable floor time so the others can shine. Something I found especially striking was the dedication they had to their sport--one even leaving his family in a different country to come play and build his skills. Each came with an open mind, and each tried his best to make the highest contribution he could make to his team, and that spirit is what makes basketball such a great sport so that, win or lose, the team would forever be marked by the dedication they put into their craft, taking those invaluable life skills into the rest of their lives.

I would recommend this book highly to anyone who is curious about basketball. Although I would have liked to see the perspectives of all the team members, there was enough characterization to keep me happy. It is a graphic novel, so it is mostly pictures and even though it is a thick book, it is a relatively quick read, with Yang’s writing style being easy to follow. All in all, I would give Dragon Hoops a four out of five-star rating.