In Seven Seconds or Less, Sports Illustrated's chief NBA writer, Jack McCallum, gets in the paint with the Phoenix Suns and takes a season-long look at the NBA's most exciting and controversial team.

A few weeks before the 2005-2006 NBA training camps began, Jack McCallum called the Phoenix Suns ace director of public relations to propose a story idea for Sports Illustrated. He would spend the preseason with the team as an assistant coach and then write a story about his experiences. He was quickly granted access, and while his role as assistant coach lasted only through the preseason, McCallum stayed on with the team throughout their amazing 2005-2006 season. McCallum was looking for real inside access and he certainly got it. He spent the season in the locker room and in the coaches' meetings, learning what makes this wildly popular, innovative, and international assemblage of talented players and brilliant coaches tick.

For years, NBA basketball was marked by a plodding, dull-as-dishwater style of play — that was until coach Mike D'Antoni, point guard Steve Nash, and the high-flying Phoenix Suns set the league on fire with their old-school, run-and-gun approach to offense. Along the way they won back legions of disillusioned fans and demonstrated the virtues of team play to a league preoccupied with one-on-one theatrics.

In Seven Seconds or Less, McCallum describes his year trying to keep up with the fast-breaking Suns on and off the court. He takes readers inside the heads of Nash, the team's mercurial floor general; the maverick D'Antoni; and dozens of others who make up the close-knit Suns family. On the court, there's excitement as the Suns overcome a rash ofinjuries to once again battle for a conference title. Off the court, controversy rages as the team endures a major front-office change in midseason. Throughout it all, the team continues to bedevil opponents and challenge the status quo with their throwback style.

In the spirit of Buzz Bissinger's Three Nights in August and John Feinstein's A Season on the Brink, Seven Seconds or Less is an in-depth look at one of the greatest shows in sports.

"McCallum delivers again!"-- Bill Simmons, The Sports Guy, espn.com

"A fascinating and funny book, a fly-on-the-wall account of what life is really like in the NBA."-- Steve Rushin, Sports Illustrated

"A must-read for NBA fans. . . . The most detailed view yet of what really transpires to make, or break, an NBA team."-- San Antonio Express-News

"A fascinating fly-on-the-wall look at how coach Mike D'Antoni and his staff led an injury-plagued team to the Western Conference Finals."-- Sports Illustrated

"A great read for Suns and NBA fans, and great insight into life beyond the locker room door."-- Scottsdale Tribune

"This is one of the best NBA books I've read, and I am pretty sure I have read them all."-- Detroit News

"A glimpse into NBA life that should be cherished by hoops fans for years to come."-- Toronto Star

"McCallum writes about basketball the way only a few have ever played it: With a grace and insight that changes the way you look at the game."-- Steve Rushin, Sports Illustrated

"Sports Illustrated's" chief NBA writer gets inside the paint with the Phoenix Suns and takes a season-long look at the NBA's most exciting and controversial team.

Sports Illustrateds" chief NBA writer offers an insiders view of the Phoenix Suns and takes a season-long look at the NBAs most exciting and controversial team.

Sports Illustrated's chief NBA writer, Jack McCallum, only planned to spend the preseason with the Phoenix Suns as an "assistant coach" — and then write a story about his experiences. Instead, he stayed on with the Suns throughout their exciting and controversial 2005-2006 season. Gaining access to everything from locker-room chats with superstar point guard Steve Nash, to coaches' meetings with maverick coach Mike D'Antoni, McCallum learned what makes this wildly popular, innovative, and international assemblage of talented players and brilliant coaches tick — making Seven Seconds or Less an all-access look at one of the greatest shows in sports.