The Punch, written by John Feinstein, refers to an incident that happened in 1977 during an NBA game. The game was in the Los Angeles Forum with the LA Lakers playing the Houston Rockets that night. Rudy Tomjanovich, the All-Star Power Forward from the Rockets, was punched in the face by Kermit Washington, the Power Forward from the Lakers. Unfortunately, the punch dislodged Rudy’s skull and nearly killed Rudy. The Punch shows the readers what happened that night and the events leading up to it with background information on everyone involved.

    The book starts out with the Rockets and the Lakers playing a casual game. Rudy was talking about how he was afraid the scoreboards in the arenas would fall down and hurt them. “I always thought about it in the empty arenas, ‘he said’. For some reason, I worried that one day one of the damn things would break and it would come crashing down on us during a game” (Feinstein 3). In the third quarter, a small skirmish between Rocket Kevin Kunnert and Laker Kareem Abdul-Jabbar happened. The skirmish started to escalate and before you knew it, Kermit Washington was throwing punches at Kunnert while Kareem was trying to stop Washington and pull Kunnert away. Rudy started to run towards the fight, full speed from one end of the court to half court. He didn't see that Washington was going to deck him. Washington punched Rudy, but with Rudy’s speed and Washington’s strength, the impact was bad. It was said you could actually hear the punch from the bleachers in the stadium. When Rudy woke up, he had a nosebleed and could taste something bitter in his mouth. He was taken to the ICU and Washington was ejected from the game. Rudy later found out that the punch was fatal and the bitter taste in his mouth was spinal fluid. His skull got dislocated and had to have extensive surgeries to fix his skull and save his life. It was later that night that both the Lakers and the Rockets learned the true urgency of the situation. Washington was then suspended from the team for a few months and Rudy had to miss out the rest of the season.

    Rudy managed to make a full recovery and was able to go home for the first time. Washington was traded from the Lakers to the Boston Celtics during his suspension. However, while Washington was in a new place, the people still thought he was a bad man. It seemed to everyone that Washington was that one guy who would kill you. Washington was just a good man who accidentally did the wrong thing. Rudy tried to play basketball again after making a full recovery and Washington was trying to adjust to life in Boston. Unfortunately, Rudy could not play like before and had to retire from the Rockets. Washington was traded from the Celtics to the Portland Trail Blazers. Rudy decided to not try to play basketball again and instead became an assistant coach for the Rockets. In Portland, Washington was seen as another player in the NBA, not the guy who nearly killed a man. He was happy for a time until Washington’s injuries from previous seasons started to drag him down. Rudy was eventually made Head Coach of the Houston Rockets and Washington retired from basketball to coach college basketball. He eventually tried to play again with the Trail Blazers one last time but then moved to the Golden State Warriors where he decided to ultimately retire due to his back and knee problems.

In one last interview about the Rockets future, Rudy was asked about Washington. At this point, Washington was trying to help kids around the world. “ I hope he does really well.’ Because, he is asked jokingly, they’re still married after all these years? ‘Because.’ He said, ‘we’re brothers” (346). Even a long time after The Punch, the events still followed Rudy and Washington around and practically “married” the men together. The Punch actually helped the NBA as they started to put in more rules, the foul system, and more referees for all games.

    This book is very well written, with the main event (The Punch) being depicted first, the events leading up to The Punch, and background information on the people involved in The Punch. John Feinstein was able to take what seemed like a hateful person (Kermit Washington) and explained the events with detail, not assumptions like what most Americans did back in the 1970s. Feinstein explored Washington's background, his early life, college career, and Washington’s professional career. Not only does Feinstein take us through Washington’s life, he also took us through Rudy’s life and his personal perspective on The Punch and his recovery.

    Feinstein essentially breaks down the events leading up to The Punch, The Punch itself, and the aftermath. He describes everything and everyone in full detail. Before I read this book, I thought Kermit Washington was one of those basketball players that went ballistic on people. After I read this, Washington seemed like just anyone else who just made a horrible mistake and it escalated, making it a huge deal. Feinstein had no bias, he just wanted to tell the story of how it really was. Feinstein didn't just focus mainly on Rudy and Washington. He focused on what basketball was like back then, events in the NBA, and Feinstein also had small background information of the important people in the main characters lives. After the main event, Feinstein described the aftermath for Washington, specifically the NBA and the people’s reaction to Washington himself and the events in Washington’s life. Feinstein also accounted Rudy’s recovery step by step and what Rudy did after his injury. In short, John Feinstein was able to keep the subject and the plot of this book interesting.

    I personally recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about basketball history or someone who likes sports and would like to read a book of an event in the NBA. The Punch is a guaranteed page-turner for these people. Not only does the reader read a story about basketball, the reader can read what essentially is good and evil or what is right or wrong about The Punch. It is up to the readers to decide what the audience interprets form this story.