The hellish first day was finally over. We didn't get any positive replies. Hell, no one even said that they would give it a thought. Marcus had invited everyone to have some beers, but the ladies refused and the Coach said that he needs some time alone to think. So at the end it was only me and him. To that he exclaimed something in the lines of 'Hell yeah! Dudes night!'
Since it was only us and we both were short on cash, we decided to ditch fancy places and sprung head into some random small sports bar that was nearby.
That day the bar didn't have many customers, so we were able to get seated right in front of the table that had its own TV plugged in.
"So bro, what should we watch? We have Blazers vs Knicks and Brooklyn vs Washington."
"Let's go for Blazers and Knicks, Brooklyn and Washington are known to be a bit bummy."
"That's a good choice, plus the guy they drafted last year, Lillard. I think he is having his breakout season."
I didn't reply and just nodded my head in agreement. The match had already progressed to the third quarter by the time we turned in. The scoreboard showed 63-59 in Portland's favour.
"By the way, you played on our team, I remember you did."
"It wasn't much."
"No-no, don't make yourself look broke, I remember folks back in the day saying you were the most probable guy from our place to join the league. 6'9'' small forward moving like a big guard."
"I would like to not speak about that, folks who are not one-and-dones aren't in a huge favour by the league scouts. You know, seeing dudes from your cohort already making waves in the league, while you were thrown behind the deck feels like shit."
"But you played against the guys – the chosen ones – how was it?"
"Hmm…Tough is the best word. I remember Kentucky hit us with a nasty pick-n-roll once, so I was left mismatched against Boogie for a couple of secs."
"Damn, how did you survive?"
"Man, he bumped his shoulder into my chest so hard I thought my soul had left my body."
"Shiiit"
"Yo, there is another story. Kemba Walker once did such a nasty crossover followed by a stepback three on our point guard, the dude had to major as a physician just to fix his ankles. And that's not a joke, he said it to me himself."
"Bwahaha, bro that's crazy, do you have any other stories?"
"Man, I have a lot. There is a guy in Orlando, Oladipo. So, once, he dunked on our center so hard his mom had to leave the venue. She cried and said that she couldn't bear to see her baby die like that!"
"That's tough. What about AD, he is my favourite among the young ones. Did you play against him?"
"Hell yeah I did. Actually, I remember once the coach said to not go inside on Davis. I did it anyway, wanting to see how good he was really. I drove inside, passed by my defender and we both went airborne under the rim. I decided to go for a jelly, usually works well on rim protectors. Damn he punched the ball to the bleachers so hard it felt like he was a volleyball player."
And just like that we talked and drank reminiscing about the good old days. Wall's dances, Irving's shoe deal, Adams' shampoo. Even how a dude from Spartans trash talked a gatorade cooler, I think he went to the Warriors.
We didn't notice how quickly the time flew by. We turned our full attention to the screen only when the final minutes of the game began. Trailblazers were behind but not much and actually making a huge comeback. The game was tied, and during the final moments the ball was in the hands of number 0. The final countdown began, if he won't do anything, they will have to play overtime. Lillard didn't hurry. His dribbles were slow and steady. And in the final seconds he did a confident crossover followed by a fadeaway three pointer. The ball made a graceful arc and hit the net with a swoosh right at the buzzer. It was a beautiful shot. The crowd went wild. The camera pointed at him, staring stone faced into it, while his teammates were running and jumping around him.
"Damn, what a guy," pointed out Marcus, "What college did he play for?"
"Weber State in the Big Sky."
"Never heard of them, always thought guys like him come from huge programmes."
"Nah, not always, Weber State is small, not distinguishable from a Division II school. I think he is the first guy who went to the league from that place. You know, growing up he was overlooked by the scouts despite his talents."
"Yeah, but you know, maybe if he went into some big school, he might not have been the man he is today. Even in football it is like that, you know, teams are like kingdoms, and sometimes there are too many kings for one kingdom. And to wandering princelings it is the best option to not join some big place, to be a valet, but find some place where they can flourish and become kings themselves."
I stared at him for a moment. The TV's glow flickered across his grin. He didn't even realize what he'd said. But I did.
"Marcus, did you understand what you have just said?"
"What you mean? Is something wrong?"
"No, man. I just wanted to say that you are a fucking genius! Repeat what you had just said."
"Teams are kingdoms?"
"No!"
"Flourish and become king?"
"No, man. Wandering princelings! That's the answer! Guys like Dame! Man I have to run, see you at the job tomorrow!" I exclaimed and ran out of the bar. I needed to talk to Coach K immediately.
I think I heard Marcus screaming about the tab, but my mind was already elsewhere…