Narrative Essay: The First Basketball Game

The ball was silent in the overloaded, roaring arena. It was late in the the fourth quarter of the 6th game in the NBA finals and the Warriors were down 97-95 against the Wizards. When he crosses half court, he looks calm, collected, and has a slight grin on his face. He is being defended by John Wall the Wizards all-star guard with forward height, sprinter speed, and world class athleticism. The clock is now at twenty seconds and counting. Steph plays with him out at the top of the key and looks toward his big man, calling for a screen. “Dre, come set one!” Stephen said as the clock was slowly ticking away. 10, 9, 8… Draymond Green sprints up to the top of the key and sets a wholluping screen on John Wall. Steph comes off the hard ball
screen and sets up for a shot behind the line…
...
Stephen Curry played college basketball at Davidson. It was his senior season and he led his team into the NCAA Tournament. They went in as an eight seed and had to face the University of Pittsburgh, a nine seed. They were playing at Madison Square Garden in New York, one of the most grandiose arenas in the world. The Davidson and Pittsburgh fans did not disappoint. It was a packed arena. Both teams were very underrated and were supposed to go deep into the tournament. However, only one team would make it past this grueling game. Steph went into the second half shooting 13%.
Halfway through the second half Davidson was down by twelve points. They were tired, worn out, beat. Pittsburgh had them on their heels and they knew it. The next few possessions changed the whole game. Steph got a steal and hit the layup. It was now a ten point game. Davidson got a stop on defense and Curry ran down the floor and set up in the corner. His teammate found him early; Steph was wide open. Buckets. It was down to seven. The clock was at five minutes and seemed to be counting down eerily fast. Another stop. Curry dribbled it down the floor to find his teammate who he hit on a behind the back pass for a wide open layup. Down to five. Pittsburgh came down the floor and called a
timeout. “It’s time to get it, right here!” Steph said to his team in the huddle, pumping them up.
Everyone in the huddle seemed exhausted. Except Steph. Their coach drew up a play for them to run the next possession which would get Curry with the ball at the top, coming off of a stagger screen. They got a stop on defense and quickly pushed the ball down the floor to get in their offense. They executed the play thoroughly and Steph drilled the three. The score was down to a one possession game with two minutes on the clock and counting. A few possessions later, the game clock was ticking away and Davidson was trailing Pittsburgh by 2 points. Davidson had the ball and Madison Square Garden was coming to life. Stephen was walking the ball up the court and the arena erupted. The clock was ticking down. The shot clock was turned off; everyone knew it would come down to this possession. Steph called down to his big man. “Come set one!” Steph yelled as his barely audible voice was being disrupted in the roaring arena. His big man sprinted up to the top of the key and set a hard screen on Steph’s man. Steph came off of the screen and set up for a
shot. He remembers all the countless hours in an empty gym. He remembers working on his shot; increasing accuracy, quickening his release, and shooting under pressure. He remembers shooting in his backyard with his dad. All the times he worked on his technique. It all led up to this. The ball left his hand and made a beautiful high arc over the goal. The whole gym went silent as time seemed to slow down. Everyone was waiting to see if the ball was going to go in. Except Stephen. He knew it was going down the moment it left his hand. The ball dropped through the rim, nothing but net. The crowd went haywire as the Davidson bench cleared and celebrated their victory. … John Wall went under the screen. Mistake. This gave Steph just enough time to get his lightning quick shot off. The ball came to Steph’s shot pocket and smoothly went up above his head. He made the same flick motion he’d made millions of times in practice. The ball had perfect backspin when it left his hand. The ball soared high in the air. Steph wasn’t nervous taking this shot, as he had lived this moment before: in his dreams and in real life. “It’s down.” Steph thought to himself after it left his hand. And he was right. The ball dropped through the rim as the crowd erupted around him. The Warriors had just won the NBA Finals.