8 Slam-Dunk Basketball Romance Books

Natalie Kenyon is a renowned life coach who helps her famous clients deal with the weight of celebrity so that they can find a semblance of normalcy and maybe even true love. But pro-basketball all-star Derek Lansing isn't a regular client. He's a sporting legend whose rags-to-riches story has made him famous. He's living his childhood dream, but beneath his image as a playboy athlete lies a troubled soul yearning for redemption. 

Natalie is determined to help him reunite with his estranged family and get the closure he seeks, but he's not ready to relinquish control so easily. He's desperate to win both on and off the court, but can he give up his heart?

Everyone is obsessed with the New York Flyers, the hottest basketball team in the country. They know how to win games, but they also have a habit of filling up the gossip columns with endless speculation of their off-court scandals. For the wives and girlfriends of the players, avoiding drama has become a full-time job. Now, with the playoffs looming and the team's future in jeopardy, the temptations to sin are even stronger than ever.

Elisabeth Page comes from literary royalty, as the daughter of the legendary novelist Ben Page. But, much to her family's disappointment, Elisabeth decided to become a pastry chef instead. Now, she works at Beverly, the hottest restaurant in LA, dedicating her life to sweet treats. It makes it easier for her to avoid her awful ex, Will, who won't stop trash-talking her to anyone who will listen. 

Enter Daniel Sullivan, a basketball coach from working-class roots who wins a chance to attend one of Elisabeth's pastry making classes at a charity auction. They're polar opposites but somehow they fit together well. Between her family, Will, and the new cooking show that Elisabeth is recruited to star in, Elisabeth's life has suddenly become wild. Maybe Daniel can bring some much-needed peace to the proceedings… so long as she doesn't let her family's meddling get in the way.

Violet doesn't care much for sports or parties. While her classmates at Valley U go wild on campus, she prefers to snuggle in her bed and watch Jane Austen movies. If only she could block out the noise of next door, where the jocks seem to be partying 24/7. That includes Gavin Leonard, her infuriating ex. She wants to avoid him at all costs, but now they're stuck together on a camping trip. And they have to share a tent.

As the newest Captain of the Devils, Chicago’s NBA team, Ryan Shay has a lot on his plate. The team's general manager vocally disapproved of him getting the job, declaring him to be an antisocial loner with no work-life balance. Ryan is desperate to prove him wrong, but how? Enter Indy Ivers, the sister of his best friend, in need of somewhere to live. Ryan offers his apartment on condition: She has to pretend to be his girlfriend and help improve his image. The tension is unbearable from the get-go and soon it becomes impossible to separate real from fake. Can they afford to let things become more than an act?

Deion McCabe is a veteran basketball player who would rather avoid off-court attention than play to the crowd. After an altercation with a fan during a game gets hostile, the league orders Deion to attend anger management. If he doesn't fix his attitude and gameplay, he'll lose his job. 

Sloane Kaplan is a single mother and cocktail waitress with zero tolerance for BS. But having a short fuse keeps getting her in trouble, and her latest brawl lands her in an anger management course. She and Deion need to rein in their tempers for the sake of their futures, but that doesn't mean they can't let sparks fly together.

Retired basketball player Mitchell Anderson is used to drama on the court, but when he sees an overturned car on the edge of a cliff during a snowstorm, he has to turn real-life hero without a second thought. Hope Roman, the woman in the car, was already going through it before she almost died in the middle of a blizzard and was saved by a hunky athlete. Now, she and her knight in shining armor are snowed in together in a charming inn, and the sparks are bound to fly. The pillow barrier separating them on the bed won't hold on for long!

Cheyenne Haney waited five years for her boyfriend to propose, but when he finally did it, things immediately went wrong. Now, heartbroken and confused, she finds herself crashing into Harley Dunn. Gorgeous and beloved by everyone, Harley is a top player for the Baton Rouge Bayou. If only she was as good at love as she was at shooting hoops. But there's something about Cheyenne that has her ready to change things. The women begin a steamy friends-with-benefits relationship that's just meant to be a way for them to have some no-strings-attached fun. The last thing either of them need is a complicated romance, but now they're catching feelings…