Earl “The Twirl” Cureton was never a star player in the NBA, but then again, few people will ever be a celebrity athlete.  Earl’s story, instead, is about a life on the fringes of the league during its “Golden Era” of the ’80s and ’90s. A teammate of Julius Erving, Moses Malone, Michael Jordan, Charles Oakley, Muggsy Bogues, Hakeem Olajuwon, and more, Earl was a part of seven NBA teams in his twelve-season career. He won two championships during his career, first in 1983 with the Philadelphia 76ers, and then in 1994 with the Houston Rockets. And yet, as a professional basketball journeyman, every day was a struggle.
Growing up in Detroit during race riots, Earl worked hard and became a standout player at the University of Detroit. A 6′ 9″ center in the pros, Earl battled with Karem Abdul-Jabbar in back-to-back NBA Finals. While many know the stories of big names like Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird, few understand the life of a player on the outskirts of the league. This is Earl’s own story, a unique perspective on the trials of a journeyman player: non-guaranteed contracts, tryouts and cuts, playing overseas, coming back from injury, and the looming “right of first refusal.”  

Earl Cureton is a Detroit-born two-time NBA champion with the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets. Today, he works as an ambassador for the Pistons.
Jake Uitti is a Seattle-based writer from New Jersey. His work has been featured in Vanity Fair, The Guardian, The Nation, and Interview.

Earl Cureton and Jake Uitti
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages:
Bibliographic Info: ca. 30 photos, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9383-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5159-0
Imprint: McFarland