Note: A day late on this, but Happy Belated 27th Birthday Gilbert!

As I’m sure you’ve heard many times here and elsewhere, Gilbert Arenas penned (or more likely, dictated) the foreword for Free Darko’s new book.  A foreword is defined as a “a short introductory statement in a published work, as a book, esp. when written by someone other than the author.”  Typically, the best forewords are able to do that and establish some credibility for the author and the thoughts that follow.  It might be short, but writing a good foreword isn’t as easy as it might seem.

To start off his foreword, Gilbert talks about the player that made him “fall in love with the game”, Penny Hardaway.

If you’re too young to remember what Penny was like on the court during his prime, you can get a good idea by watching this (YouTube is awesome isn’t it?).  But as Gilbert explains, he didn’t become a fan of Penny just because of his highlights, his style played a huge role as well: The shoes, the commercials, the armbands, the hair, and of course his style of play.

I’ve always felt that the basketball is the most artistic sport around.  The court is a 94 foot canvas that we all paint differently.  Like any work of art, some of it is influenced by previous works (think of all the times you’ve tried to copy Jordan’s fadeaway, Kareem’s sky hook, or LeBron’s crab dribble) and some of it is original and unique to ourselves.  Furthermore, like any work of art, basketball style is open to interpretation and evaluation by all.  Each of us have different tastes that either attract or repel us from different players.  Some art evokes almost universally positive reaction (Chris Paul), some art evokes almost universally negative reaction (Antoine Walker) and there’s some art that draws lots of reaction both positive and negative (Kobe Bryant).

Chances are, if you’re reading this site it’s because there’s something about Gilbert’s style that you find appealing.  Whether it’s his blazing open court speed, his fearlessness when it comes to taking the final shot, his goofiness or something else, there’s something that about Gilbert’s game that you can’t help but admire, like a great piece of art.

Well, you get the idea.

As Gilbert explains in the foreword, we’re all attracted to different players because of their style.  As you go on to read the book, you realize that it’s all about the great players of the NBA and how their styles make the game so fun to watch.  By lending his name to the foreword and getting people acquainted with this idea, Gilbert meets both of the requirements of a good foreword and sets the table for the rest of the book.