# Wish I Was a Baller

**Author:** Amar Shah
**Grade range:** Grades 6–8
**Page count:** 306
**Genre:** Juvenile Nonfiction
**ISBN-13:** `9781546110521`
**ISBN-10:** `1546110526`
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/book/wish-i-was-a-baller
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## About this book

Wish I Was a Baller is part New Kid, part The Tryout, and part Dragon Hoops! Amar Shah has some story to tell! In 1995, he was a fourteen-year-old aspiring sports journalist (and basketball superfan) angling to get into an Orlando Magic team practice. He did, and it took him on the ride of his life! Wish I Was a Baller is a graphic memoir chronicling Amar's real-life experiences as a fourteen-year-old sports journalist covering the golden era of the NBA, when he befriended Shaq and hung out with Michael Jordan and the Bulls-all while surviving the high school caste system, dealing with crushes, and friendships being tainted by jealousy.

## Where this book is assigned

### Great Lakes Great Books Award

- **recommended** · 6th grade · Michigan — [source: Michigan Reading Association — Great Lakes Great Books Award 2026-27 nominee (official GLGBA nominee press release + nominees list, announced March 7, 2026 at the MRA Annual Conference; Michigan students vote through January 9, 2027) — 6-8 division](https://michiganreading.org/Great-Lakes-Great-Books)
- **recommended** · 7th grade · Michigan — [source: Michigan Reading Association — Great Lakes Great Books Award 2026-27 nominee (official GLGBA nominee press release + nominees list, announced March 7, 2026 at the MRA Annual Conference; Michigan students vote through January 9, 2027) — 6-8 division](https://michiganreading.org/Great-Lakes-Great-Books)
- **recommended** · 8th grade · Michigan — [source: Michigan Reading Association — Great Lakes Great Books Award 2026-27 nominee (official GLGBA nominee press release + nominees list, announced March 7, 2026 at the MRA Annual Conference; Michigan students vote through January 9, 2027) — 6-8 division](https://michiganreading.org/Great-Lakes-Great-Books)

---

_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. For the full HTML view with reading-list cross-references, see https://readinglist.school/book/wish-i-was-a-baller._