The cover of my second book, which is scheduled to be published on February 19, 2027.
By AARON BRACY
September 14, 2026
In the old days of DVD’s, I used to love watching the behind-the-scenes footage of the making of the movie that often came along with the disc you rented or bought.
So, I thought it might be cool for all of you to get an inside look into the making of my second book, Are You Kidding Me? The Incredible, Inspiring Story of Allen Iverson and the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers (Brookline). It is scheduled for publication on February 19, 2027. Between now and then, I plan to bring you a multipart series titled, “The Making of Are You Kidding Me?”
The series begins today with Part 1: The Idea and Proposal. I also plan to share insight into the research, interviews, writing process, editing, title, the black box, and more. In addition to reading, you also can watch the series at Bracy Sports Media on YouTube or listen to the series on the Bracy Sports Media podcast.
Meantime, you can preorder the book today on Amazon and elsewhere. By the time you receive it in the mail, this series will have you ready for the finished product! Enjoy!
Click HERE to preorder on Amazon.
Click HERE to preorder at Brookline.
Click HERE to preorder at Barnes & Noble.
The Idea and Proposal
Sometime about midway through my first book, A Soaring Season: The Incredible, Inspiring Story of the 2003–04 Saint Joseph’s Hawks (Brookline), I made a list in the Notes app on my iPhone of other book ideas that I would like to pursue. I found that writing a book was both exhausting and exhilarating, and the exhilaration part had me wanting to do it again.
A couple of months after A Soaring Season was published on March 1, 2025, after the various book events settled down, I consulted my list, took a very deep breath, and readied to do this all over again. I spent about a month doing research and even conducted a few interviews for one of the other ideas on my list. But it just didn’t feel right. It is a book that I am really excited about pursuing and hope to someday write, but now didn’t feel like the right time.
So, I scrapped that idea and looked back over my list. And there it was in my notes app:
My wife’s name is next to the idea for a book on the 2001 76ers because she liked that one when I ran several of the ideas by her. Yeah, I like that idea, too.
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“I found that writing a book was both exhausting and exhilarating, and the exhilaration part had me wanting to do it again.”
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Has anyone written that book?
Before getting too excited, though, I needed to find out if anyone had written a book on the 2001 76ers. A search showed that indeed one book on the subject had been written, The 76ers with Iverson: Reliving the Ride (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform) by Clifton Duquette. I also recalled that Larry Platt had written a book on Iverson that was published around that time, Only the Strong Survive: The Odyssey of Allen Iverson (Dey Street Books). So, I ordered both books to investigate. I read both books cover to cover. Both were interesting. Thankfully, neither was similar to what I hand in mind. Duquette’s book was written from a fan’s perspective while Platt’s story was more of a bio on Iverson. I was in the clear! (Both books did provide some helpful background information, something I cited in the Acknowledgments for Are You Kidding Me?)
I want to write this book: Now what?
Seeing that no other books were out there similar to what I wanted to write about the 2001 76ers, I set out to do some research in early June 2025. I had a vision for the story but wanted to flesh it out with some basic research. I plan to spend an entire part of this series on research, so I won’t go into depth here other than to say that I had a pretty good idea of the story I wanted to tell after about a month of research.
However, before going forward with a proposal to publishers or saying anything publicly, I wanted to test the waters by doing some interviews. Would people be willing to speak with me? What kinds of memories would they have?
A Few Interviews
My first interviewee was someone who was not connected to the 76ers or even basketball. It was former Phillies shortstop and manager Larry Bowa. Why Bowa? Well, my research unveiled an interesting fact: Bowa was introduced as Phillies manager on the same day as the home opener of the 76ers’ 2001 season. Mostly, though, I had a hunch that Bowa, himself a hard-charging, fiery player and manager in a similar vein to Iverson, probably would have some illuminating things to say about Iverson.
So, I approached Bowa in the Phillies press box on July 21, 2025. Just as I had hoped, Bowa provided some great insight. Not only was he a fan of watching Iverson, but he had interacted with him on several occasions while managing the Phillies. Parts of that very first interview did end up in the book to help tell the story of Iverson!
OK, I was off and running.
My second interview really sealed the deal for me. It was with 76ers radio announcer Tom McGinnis the day after the Bowa interview. It wasn’t just the insight that McGinnis provided into that team and that season struck me, but also the enthusiasm and passion he had for Iverson and that 76ers team. I remembered those feelings well, having lived through it as a young sportswriter then covering various sports for the Trenton Times. What I felt in that interview is the joy that the 2001 76ers evoke, and a big reason why I wanted to retell this story because I believe it is a story that is going to bring joy and inspiration to readers. (Hopefully, the writer stayed out of the way enough for that to happen! Lol! Readers will be the judge and jury.)
I will go into more depth in interviews and my process in another planned part of this series.
Next Steps
I continued doing a few more interviews. Now that I had some research and interviews under wraps, I started zeroing in on what I wanted to say with this book. I plan to get into this more in a part of the series about the writing process. In short, I felt ready to submit a proposal to publishers.
On August 2, 2025, I sat down and wrote a proposal. Later that day, before emailing the proposal to Brookline, I sent out this Tweet letting the world know what I was doing.
There were a few reasons I did this. For one, I wanted to get my idea out there before someone else came up with it. Also, I kind of wanted to gauge the reaction. The reaction was extremely positive, something I would add to my proposal as a reason why I thought people would want to buy and read this book. Perhaps most of all, I sent out the Tweet as a way to hold myself accountable to actually go through with this. I could have walked away from the project without anyone knowing prior to sending out the Tweet. Once I made it public, I still could have walked away from it but it would not be as easy. It was kind of like saying to myself, “OK, let’s go!” (So, thank you to everyone who liked or responded to that Tweet because it helped more than you know!)
Proposal Time
Unlike A Soaring Season when I sent a proposal to many publishers, I emailed this proposal only to Brookline. I thought we worked well together the first time and running it back felt right. Much to my delight, they greenlighted the project.
Outline of Your Book
Here is the exact proposal I sent under the “Outline of Your Book” section:
During the 2000-2001 National Basketball Association (NBA) season, Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers captured the hearts and minds of sports fans in Philadelphia and nationwide with a hustling, underdog style of play that was must-see every night. Iverson, one of the league’s top scorers in spite of being one of its shortest players, became a generational basketball superstar and cultural icon with a rebellious, appealing style – both on and off the court. At times, he butted heads with legendary Hall of Fame head coach Larry Brown, especially early in their tenure in Philadelphia together, but the duo overcame their differences and many challenges, including a devastating, season-ending injury to their starting center midway through the season, to reach the NBA Finals against Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and the ultimately too-powerful Los Angeles Lakers.
This book will detail the people and personalities who were part of one of the most memorable seasons in Philadelphia sports history, from the coaches, to the players, to management, to Sixers fans, to opponents, and to many, many other observers of the team and the NBA. How did Brown ingeniously sculpt a team of blue-collar, role players who were willing to do all the dirty work without any of the glory around the gifted, but, at times, mercurial Iverson? How did Iverson make changes to his game and lifestyle—or did he?—to fit more into Brown’s mold after nearly being traded to another team prior to the season? Why did sports fans, both in Philly and around the country, fall in love with this team—and stay in love with them 25 years later?
Deeply reported with in-depth interviews anticipated from more than a hundred people, this book will shed light on the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers in a way that has never been done before. It will allow fans—who were in the arena for the deafening roars or contributed cheers from their living room, in sports bars, or wherever a television could be found—who remember that amazing season like it was yesterday and those too young to have been there but wishing they were to relive it in a way that will have them smiling broadly and loudly shouting: “LET’S! GO! SIX-ERS!” once again while reminding them the great lengths that effort, hustle, determination, teamwork, and commitment can take you.
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Aaron Bracy has covered sports in Philadelphia for nearly three decades for various publications and as a freelancer for the Associated Press. His first book, A Soaring Season: The Incredible, Inspiring Story of the 2003–04 Saint Joseph’s Hawks (Brookline), can be ordered HERE. His second book, Are You Kidding Me? The Incredible, Inspiring Story of Allen Iverson and the 2001 Philadelphia 76ers (Brookline) is scheduled to be published in February 2027. You can preorder it HERE. Follow Bracy on social media HERE. Contact him at bracymedia@gmail.com.