Killer Crossover

Considered one of the best point guards of his generation, Tim Hardaway was a polarizing figure on the basketball court. Known for his distinguished college career at UTEP, Hardaway was selected in the first round of the 1989 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. He soon became a household name.

In Killer Crossover, Hardaway shares stories from his tough upbringing in Chicago through his collegiate career and to the NBA. As a part of "Run TMC" (with fellow Warriors Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin), he immediately established himself as one of the top players on the hardwood. Joining the Miami Heat in 1996, and along with teammates Alonzo Mourning, Dan Majerle, and Jamal Mashburn (to name a few), he would become a main protagonist in one of the most contentious rivalries in all of basketball against the New York Knicks.

A master trash talker and one of the best ball handlers, Hardaway shares what it was like playing basketball in the nineties against some of the greatest to ever play the game, including future Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Patrick Ewing, and Reggie Miller. Never shy to speak his mind, "Tim Bug" pulls back the curtain on the blood, sweat, and tears that went into becoming one of the most feared guards in the game and a future Hall of Famer.

But with the good comes the bad, as Hardaway opens up about his hurtful and anti-gay comments in 2007, and how a single radio interview turned his life upside-down. Though knocked down and painted as a hateful person, he adapted his "crossover" mentality to humbling himself and learning from his mistakes. Doing so, he became a proponent for the LGBTQ+ community, working closely with The Trevor Project and The YES Institute, as well as being the symbolic first signer of a petition to overturn "Florida Amendment 2," allowing same-sex marriage in the state of Florida.

Killer Crossover is not just a basketball biography. It is the story of a man who worked his way from humble beginnings to becoming an All-Star at the highest level—not to mention a father to a future NBA standout—as well as all the trials and tribulations that come along with being one of the best in the game.

Paul Knepper covered the New York Knicks for Bleacher Report. His first book was The Knicks of the Nineties: Ewing, Oakley, Starks and the Brawlers That Almost Won It All. His next book, Moses Malone: The Life of a Basketball Prophet, is avilable now. You can reach Paul at paulknepper@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @paulieknep.