In honor of the NBA season coming back, I wrote a short piece. I’m a huge sports fan. A few years ago, I considered creating a sports blog.
Note: This is fiction. It’s told from the point of view of a fictional basketball player.
It had been months since I got to feel the excitement of being on the court. I sat on the bench watching my teammates. We were struggling. Coach was poised, not frustrated by the bricked shots. I looked around the gym, missing the fans.
I was ready for my teammates to do something that would garner a hand clap, shout, some display of praise. That was our role on the bench. It was even more important that we motivate our teammates without fans in the building. Finally our point guard hit a jump shot. We were vocal, loud, clapping for him like it wasn’t an easy shot.
Coach put me in the rotation at the start of the second quarter. We were down by fifteen. I never let things like that get to me though. I wasn’t a starter. But whenever I got in the game, I made the most of my minutes.
Their defenders left me open. My point guard was being double teamed. I stepped behind the line, knowing the ball would be coming to me. He tossed the sphere from the free throw line to the right wing. When the ball made it to my hands, I didn’t hesitate releasing the ball toward the hoop. Swish! I hit the first three for us.
I jogged backwards and got back on defense. My vet blocked their superstar’s basket. It was vicious. Our bench jumped up, cheering as the ball went out of bounds. That block would have got the crowd going crazy. But since we weren’t playing in front of twenty thousand fans, that play didn’t get the excitement that it deserved. We would have to wait until after the game to see the reaction on social media. They missed their next shot.
Back on offense, I got a rebound for an easy layup. Another jump shot by our point guard. Steal and then dunk by me. The momentum had shifted in our favor. We got the lead down to single digits.
Their coach called timeout. I said a quick prayer as I walked past the Black Lives Matter sign on the court to our bench.
Thanks for reading!
xo
Lamesha