Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of gender discrimination.

The book’s title includes the word “family,” and Coach Beck’s Hoop Group rules explicitly state that team members must treat each other as family. How does the motif of family appear throughout the story, and how does it evolve over time? How do different characters define what family means?

Sacrificing for Other People is one of the book’s key themes. In what ways does the novel argue that pursuing one’s own potential can be an act of generosity rather than selfishness?

How does Chris’s situation with his father parallel the dangers of fame and exploitation in sports?