>>5773343

*noises of solidarity*

So… how likely is it that our game will be crashed by a shootout?

> Humbling

>>5773343
>Write-in: Enraging
We'll show. Them. We'll show them all.
>Shooting Guard

>>5773343
>Write-in: Energizing
It's high but still with lots of room to improve.

>Shooting Guard or Small Forward

>>5773343
>Write-in
Not a big deal. GMs can be shit at judging skill.
>position
What era is this? We don't want to be a center in the 10s, or a PG in the 90s... would lessen our chances of real success.

>>5773343
>Energizing
>Point Guard

>>5773343
>>5773384
Whoops, didn't read the post closely enough. Since it's around the late 90s, and we'll probably start getting good early 2000s, I'd go Power Forward. PGs aren't getting offenses built around them right now, the SG position was stacked in the 2000s so we could go there but obviously there'd be a lot of competition in games, small forward would also be a good choice but they also don't have too much attention offensively, and the center position, while it could be most advantageous early, starts to go out of fashion in the late 00s. Being a power forward gives us a lot of the same advantage centers had in the early 00s, and also means that we have far more longevity in offensive schemes.
>Power Forward

>>5773343
>Energizing
>Power Forward

HAVE NO FEAR! I SHALL SAVE QUESTING!

>>5773343
>>5773343
>>Write-in: It is what it is
>>Point Guard

Ngl In my head the reason they didn't pick MC is because he's kinda short lol.

Also really refreshing to see a sports related quest on the board. Hope it continues qm.

>>5773343
>It is what it is
11th out of 60 isn't bad at all
>Shooting Guard

>>5773343
>Humbling.
>Small Forward

>>5773343
>Humbling
>Point Guard
I know nothing about these positions, but I know you win by scoring points. Guarding the points must be important.

>>5773343
>Energising
>Point Guard
Want to be the primary ball handler, hope the team picked Shaq 1st overall

>>5773343
>A bit disappointing.
>Point Guard

Time for HUSTLE

>>5773343
>Energizing
>Power Forward

Vote called for Energising and Point Guard. Post coming when I get a moment.

File: teleports behind you.gif (4.21 MB, 871x500)

4.21 MB GIF

>>5773698
Rookie point guard field commander, I'm sure this will work fine with no problems

>>5773856
Yeah, that's why I wanted Shooting Guard. It does most of the things anons expect we would do without the leadership responsibility.

>>5773870
Hopefully at the start we can just focus on ball handling and shooting coming off the bench, while the veteran point guard starter keeps the leadership role and mentors us. Then when he gets injured halfway through a critical game we can take over.

>Energising
It's an invigorating thought. Clearly someone sees the potential within you, but you still have targets to aim for among your peers.

>Point Guard
You're the smallest player to go in the draft so far at 6'1, but that's never bothered you. It's just another challenge for you to step up to meet.

The next few moments pass in a blur for you. You shake hands, pose for a picture, then get led down to a quieter side area to meet an interviewer.

The man introduces himself as Keith Tanton, and he is wearing the most atrociously, flamboyantly hideous suit you've ever had the displeasure to lay eyes on. You privately wonder if he got dressed in the dark.

Keith sits you down and asks you a few run of the mill questions about how you feel and why you think you were drafted where you were. They're all questions you had some level of preparation for, so you think you speak clearly enough to get across your belief in your own hard work and your knowledge of both how far you've come and how far you still have to go. Even if you were stumbling over your words, nobody could take how you feel right now from you.

There is one question that catches you flat-footed, though.

"Marcus," Keith says, leaning forward slightly, "how do you feel about getting drafted to the Hotshots? One of the down and out teams in the league, some say, and a long way away from your hometown Brademer Muscle. Do you feel a little cheated?"

"Cheated?" You laugh a little nervously. You didn't know you were going to get drafted to the most troubled franchise in the league. "Nah come on, man, you know I can't say nothin' like that on national television. That's one of them bad words that just stir up trouble."

"Then what *are* your words, Marcus? Few draft picks, an aging core, an owner embroiled in a corruption scandal; you have to admit that the future is bleak for your new team."

>I won't deny it sucks, but I've spent my entire life making the best of what I've got.
>I see it as just another challenge, and I love a challenge.
>The Hotshots' future isn't bleak now that I'm on the team. Just you watch me.
>Write-in.

>>5773951
>The Hotshots' future isn't bleak now that I'm on the team. Just you watch me.

We're gonna be the best.

>>5773951
>The Hotshots' future isn't bleak now that I'm on the team. Just you watch me.
The other 2 option just flat out says our team sucks, can't be caught saying that

>>5773951
>The Hotshots' future isn't bleak now that I'm on the team. Just you watch me.
He's trying to bait us to say something bad about the team, ignore it.

>>5773951
>>I see it as just another challenge, and I love a challenge.
I don't think our new teammates will appreciate the "just watch me" answer ... that said, it is the most shonen protagonist thing to say, so I'm cool with it.

>>5773951
>The Hotshots' future isn't bleak now that I'm on the team. Just you watch me.

>>5773951
>I see it as just another challenge, and I love a challenge.

>>5773951
>The Hotshots' future isn't bleak now that I'm on the team. Just you watch me.

>>5773951
>I won't deny it sucks, but I've spent my entire life making the best of what I've got.

Vote called for Counterpoint: I'm Built Different. Writing.

"Do I?" you counter, leaning forward into the chair. "We got one and eleven this year, and from what I hear y'all think the '96 draft is stacked. I don't know the man well yet, but I believe in Eddie to live up to the hype around him, and I wouldn't be here if I didn't believe in myself one hundred and twenty percent. I've put in the work needed to be picked as high as I was and I'm gonna keep workin' to get even better. I think the Hotshots are going to surprise a lot of people the next few seasons, and so am I. Just watch."

Keith looks... almost impressed? "You really believe that, don't you?"

"'Course I do, K. That's how I work, ain't it?" You lean back a little, reaching into your memory. "My dad taught me this: You can't look at the world to pick you up. You gotta believe in you, I gotta believe in me, and we gotta believe in us."

"And that's the kind of attitude that the Heat City faithful can expect you to bring to the court?"

"Every night."

Keith lets it sit for a moment, then turns to the camera. "Well, what a note to end this interview on. We'll send you right back to the draft."

The second the cameras cut, Keith's demeanour visibly dims. He turns to you. "That sure was a damn good interview, kid. I hope you can live up to it." He sighs heavily, sinking into his chair. "I've got a lot of respect for you, and not just cause of what you said a few seconds ago. I'm real sorry about what happened to your mother-"

"I don't want to talk about it," you cut in sharply, but he waves you off.

"I know. Heh. I know damn well. You know they gave me a question to ask about that, and I'm probably gonna get a stink eye for not asking it, but it ain't right to do that to a young man on air. No, I just wanted to say that you've got a lot of heart to talk your talk and walk your walk after what happened. Remember that strength, remember where you came from, and you'll do well out there."

Before you can respond he shoos you out of the interview area with a sheaf of papers. Another blue-shirted staffer guides you over to a series of photographers with all kinds of photoshoots in mind, where you're stuck staring at cameras and faking smiles while holding and wearing various things for what feels like an hour.

Just when you're sure that you'll be seeing camera flashes for the rest of your life, they let you go with directions to a recreation room where the rest of the rookies who've been picked so far will be.

>>5774146
There's... not quite as much to the break room as you were expecting. Some couches, a few TVs, a few tables of snacks, and that's about it.

You immediately pick out a few notable faces. All 7'3 of Eddie Honeycutt, the number one pick and your teammate, practically spills out of a lounge chair as he peers up at one of the TVs. The obvious choice is making nice with your to-be teammate and seeing if you hit it off.

The number two pick and the only foreigner in the room, Damir Spaleta, has a twenty foot bubble of clear space around him and is putting on a strong show of being unbothered by it. You're not sure what exactly the Croat did to deserve that, but you get the impression that it's that he's a white foreigner playing a black American's game. Approaching him would make an impression on the talented young man.

Then there's Lucas Fuller, younger brother of the star Damion Fuller, who is no doubt feeling conflicted at being drafted to his brother's rival team. You two were friendly rivals back in your college days, crossing swords regularly as the stars of your respective teams, even if he's got a good six inches of height on you. Tightening that old bond seems important, especially in light of Keith's parting words.

Who do you gravitate towards?

>Eddie Honeycutt
>Damir Spaleta
>Lucas Fuller


No, I am not letting you moodily sit in a corner.

>>5774149
>Damir Spaleta
A REAL sports anime protag doesn't let a soon to be buddy get left out in the cold like this especially when he can see its bothering him.

Might as well try try nip this isolation in the bud, or it may snowball later on down the line. Also since our personality is pretty 110% we might be able to smooth over any awkwardness that may arise.

>>5774155
Oh damn I clearly cannot read, thought the Hotshots had bumbled into getting both one and two picks.

Not gonna change my vote because we may be tiny, but we can make up for that with our big heart kek

>>5774149
>Damir Spaleta
Our old rival will be fine. We can talk to our new teammate later. The foreigner needs a friend.

>>5774149
>Eddie Honeycutt
Looks bad if we don't at least talk to our team mate first.

>>5774149
Also are we white or black? I was kinda envisioning being this universe's John Stockton to Honeycutt's Karl Malone, minus Malone's paedophilia.

>>5774149

>Damir Spaleta

Seems like the one with the most personal connection. Also, this takes place in Heat City? As in Thug Quest Heat City, or just Miami? I can only foresee good things to come of this...

>>5774149
>Lucas
Greeting our teammate first seems the most logical answers but I think it's better character wise to talk to the guy that's halfway to being our bro.

>>5774149

>Lucas Fuller

From a team cohesion standpoint, best to integrate with the guy we know first.

We can maybe help mend some connections with Damir once we’re part of the squad

>>5774149
Am I confused or are some of you guys confused? The only other guy in this room on our team is Honeycutt, the other guys have been drafted to other teams.

This is just the cool-down room for the rookies who've been drafted, not everyone here is part of our team.

>>5774251
>>5774251
You're not confused, this is a general rookie break room rather than an exclusive hotshot break room. So with that in mind...

>>5774149
>Damir Spaleta
This is our only real chance to make a connection with him considering he's on a different team, we're all in the same boat, he's got it rough and at this point rivalries and narratives have yet to set in.

We'll be seeing a lot of Eddie and we already have a line of communication open with Lucas if we want to meet up down the line.

>>5774149
>Damir Spaleta

Maybe he can teach us the Euro Step over the summer.

>>5774239
I wanted to leave it somewhat vague, in part because I'm aware of the spate of black/trans bait quests, but it's somewhat difficult to not address the topic. You are black.

>>5774241
Yes, this is the same universe as Thug Quest and Heat City. Call it a tribute to a beloved quest.

It's currently looking like Damir's winning the vote, but I'll leave the vote open while I sleep just in case.

File: dragonbasketball.gif (1012 KB, 500x240)

1012 KB GIF

>>5774277
Damn then I hope we go hotblooded sports protag to the very end because him getting entangled in shady shit when he just wants to play ball will be a hoot.

Crossing my fingers we get to take out some goons with a basketball

>>5774149
>Eddie Honeycutt

Vote called for talking to Damir Spaleta. This one may take a bit longer since I'm still waking up, but writing.

>Damir Spaleta

Damir raises an eyebrow at you as you approach, but it's only when you sit down that he speaks up. "Ah, somebody who does not treat me like a leper."

His English is better than you expected, and his accent isn't nearly as thick as you were imagining. He must read the surprise on your face, because he smiles and continues, "You expected me to barely be able to speak your language? No, I would not have chosen to leave Europe if that was the case." He sounds amused, not offended. That's a good start.

"I don't know what to expect from you, I guess." You gesture around at the rest of the room, engaged in their own distractions or conversations. "None of the guys do."

His smile takes on a sardonic edge at that. "They seem to expect that I will give them the Bubonic Plague if they get too close." He raises an eyebrow at you. "Why is that, do you know?"

"Well..." You scratch the back of your head, trying to think of the right way to put this. "It's just what you are. All the best basketball players are American-"

"Josko Mrsic," he interrupts with a frown.

"Almost all," you concede. "But that's just how it's seen. A lotta folks don't pay attention to Euro ballers, so they don't know you or what you can do. They probably first heard of you at the draft."

"So they do not know me?"

"Yeah. Then they wonder why you got drafted so high when they never heard of you and... you're a white boy. View is that white folk get overrated cause America don't want this to be a black man's game."

Damir nods, thinking. "So they do not believe I deserve to be here."

"Yeah, unfortunately."

He shrugs. "I will try not to let it bother me. They will see."

>Maybe he should take it personally, use it as fuel
>Not everyone handles things the way you do, just encourage him

>>5774915
>Not everyone handles things the way you do, just encourage him

>>5774915
>Maybe he should take it personally, use it as fuel

>>5773856
sauce on gif pls?

>>5774915
>Maybe he should take it personally, use it as fuel

>>5774923
It's Kuroko no Basket

>>5774915
>Not everyone handles things the way you do, just encourage him

We are meant to be a team. Can’t go around splitting the group with rivalries… too much, anyways.

>>5774915
>Not everyone handles things the way you do, just encourage him

File: And_I_Took_That_Personally.jpg (51 KB, 660x431)

51 KB JPG

>>5774915
>Maybe he should take it personally, use it as fuel

>>5774915
>Not everyone handles things the way you do, just encourage him

>>5774915
>Not everyone handles things the way you do, just encourage him
He doesn't seem the type to get a fire lit under his ass from this kind of disrespect.

>>5775065
I was more thinking that WE are, so that's the kind of advice we would give, whether or not it's a good idea

>>5775072
Given that we're speaking to Damir at all, I'm pretty sure that pegs Marcus as a decently empathetic person. At the very least more than every other rookie in the room right now.
That said, he IS still a young man with his own personal biases to consider. With that in mind, I think it could go either way as to which way he leans.

>Maybe he should take it personally, use it as fuel

High risk, high reward, here we go. (Legal note: this is neither high risk nor high reward, probably.)

>>5774915
>Not everyone handles things the way you do, just encourage him

>>5774915
>"I will try not to let it bother me. They will see."
Think Damir is plenty motivated to prove them wrong already, might as well show him he has a friend.

>Not everyone handles things the way you do, just encourage him

Plus if he internalises the me VS them dynamic and starts acting standoffish/cold, then we might be setting him up for failure down the line as it might mean his teammates shun him. A more cold-hearted Marcus might chose the other option to hobble the competition, but I don't see this Marcus doing so.

Vote called for Encourage. Writing.

>Not everyone handles things the way you do, just encourage him

"Yeah, that's the spirit. Just tune out the BS and let your game speak for you."

"Bee ess?" he asks, tilting his head at you in a remarkably birdlike motion.

"Bullshit. Ah, people just talking without knowing what the hell they're talking about."

He nods. "I understand. Yes, that is my idea. Ignore those who are ignorant, appreciate those who respect me such as the team that drafted me." He folds his hands and points a finger at you. "Do not think that excludes you. You are good company, and you seem a good man from what I have seen."

"Nah," you respond, "I'm a good basketball player, not some kind of great guy."

"That is bee ess, my friend."

You stare at each other for a moment with straight faces, then crack up at about the same moment.

That joke opens up a more casual discussion. He admits that he misses his family back in Croatia. You quietly comment that you miss your mother. He offers a sympathetic look, but leaves well enough alone and changes the topic to the upcoming Summer League.

The Summer League is a new institution, started up several years ago and rapidly incorporated by the ABL itself. Hosted in Los Prados, it's basically a chance for every team to let their rookie and sophomore players show their skills and try out some players who aren't currently signed to an ABL contract. It wasn't the only one of its kind, but when the ABL officially adopted it a few years ago, every one of its competitors lost out. Now it hosts every team in the league, each playing eight games over the course of three weeks.

What are you looking forward to most about it?

>Showing off your skills to the world
>Testing yourself against your competitors
>Scouting the other young talents in the league

Additionally, Damir ends up offering to practice with you while you're both in the same city. He assures you that he will not be insulted if you would prefer to do otherwise, but he would like to spend more time with you if you think you'll be free.

>Accept the invitation
>Decline the invitation

>>5775739
>Testing yourself against your competitors
>Accept the invitation
Why not?

>>5775739
>>Testing yourself against your competitors
>>Accept the invitation

>>5775739
>Testing yourself against your competitors
>Decline the invitation

>>5775739
>Testing yourself against your competitors
>Accept the invitation
Buddy get

>>5775739
>Testing yourself against your competitors
>Accept the invitation

>>5775739
>Testing yourself against your competitors
>Accept the invitation

>>5775739
>Testing yourself against your competitors
>Accept the invitation

>>5775739
>Scouting the other young talents in the league
More friends!
>Accept the invitation

>>5773870
Point Guard seems like the coolest from the quest standpoint because it opens up the oldest teammate drama in the sport(quit hogging the ball and why aren't you passing it to me)

Sorry for the wait. I had a nice outing with my father, then slept. Vote called for accepting the invitation and testing yourself. Writing.

>Testing yourself against your competitors
>Accept the invitation

Eager to sharpen iron with iron, you accept the invitation. You can't see yourself having much else to do in Los Prados. It's the decadence capital of the world, but you don't want any of that. You just want to ball. But your visit to Los Prados is still some weeks out.

++Two days later++

You're back in Brademer, playing on the asphalt courts of the inner city with the usual mix of friends you brought with you and strangers that were hanging around already. You find it's good to come back to your roots regularly. It clears your mind.

"Damn, nigga, you makin' how much money?" That's Anthony, one of the two friends you have who grew up to be taller than you. He's in a low, wide stance in front of you while you shield the ball with your body.

"Nine hundred and something thousan-" Anthony swipes at the ball while you're talking, but you're quicker, spinning the other way and driving past him.

Someone steps away from their man to intercept your drive. You could make it around him no problem, but you could also just pull up with a jumpshot from the mid-range before he gets to you. There's also the option of firing a bounce pass between his legs to the guy he just left open, who would have a clean run to the hoop.

>Finish inside
>Pull up in the mid-range
>Make the pass

>>5776998
>Make the pass

>>5776998
>>Finish inside
Being a threat inside makes everything else possible

>>5776998
>Finish inside
If you know what I mean

>>5776998
>Make the pass
We're supposed to be looking out for chances like this as a point guard, right?

>>5776998
>Pull up in the mid-range

Either this or finishing inside. Not sure if this choice is our playstyle preference or what we're good at, but a pg who can create his own shot is much more serviceable than one who can't/won't.

>>5776998
>Finish inside

sounds closest to the goal scoring poacher position from football. Which is what a /real/ protagonist would be doing

Vote called for finishing inside. Writing.

You lean forward and push forward a huge dribble going right, faking an attempt to blaze straight past him. His feet shuffle to cut you off, meaning he's blindsided by the backspin you put on the ball bringing it straight back to your hand. He's far too slow to recover, but for good measure you pick up your dribble and leap left and forward, getting more than enough separation between the two of you to have some fun with spinning it in artfully off the backboard.

"Shit, dog, take it easy on us," the man puffs good-humouredly as he jogs by.

"I am," you deadpan, more serious than joking. A lot of people don't realise just how much better Division 1 athletes are than regular street hoopers, let alone anyone good enough to make it to the ABL. You could smoke anyone on the court right now twenty to nothing if you really wanted to. Probably wouldn't even need to really unleash yourself for it. Even the guys you play with don't quite get it, and you've never really seen a need to correct them. It's all for fun when it's with the crew.

That doesn't mean you slack off enough to lose, of course.

"Hey really, though," Anthony starts back up, "you makin' nearly a mil?" You nod and he lets out a whistle as he gathers up the ball and rolls it to you. "That's a hell of a deal you got there. But hey, you deserve that shit. You the man, Marcus. When's your first check?"

You pick up the ball and wait for him to close the distance and check up. "Technically not til' the regular season starts in November, but they give you a package of that early so you got some green to move cities and all that." For you that's about seventy grand.

"All the way to Heat City for you. How's that feeling?"

"Nigga, are you really tryna have a heart to heart on the court?"

"Yeah. Now answer the question."

>"I'm gonna miss home like hell."
>"I ain't sad to be moving outta here."

"Yeah, yeah," he agrees, nodding. "I can get that. Just don't forget about us all the way over there, huh?"

>"I won't."
>"I won't," you say, trying to sound more certain than you are.
>"You're like a brother to me, man, shut your stupid ass up with that."


Late because I got distracted watching Allen Iverson. I do not apologise.

File: HHN3.gif (5.01 MB, 400x300)

5.01 MB GIF

>>5777346
>"I ain't sad to be moving outta here."
>"I won't."
Better not hit us with some Vic Van Lier type shit.
also
>distracted by Iverson
Don't even sweat it, happens to the best of us.

>>5777346
>"I ain't sad to be moving outta here."
>"You're like a brother to me, man, shut your stupid ass up with that."

>>5777346
>"I'm gonna miss home like hell."
>>"You're like a brother to me, man, shut your stupid ass up with that."

>>5777346
>"Nigga, are you really tryna have a heart to heart on the court?"
baka that's not very sports anime protag of you Marcus.

>"I'm gonna miss home like hell."
>"You're like a brother to me, man, shut your stupid ass up with that."

>>5777346
>"I'm gonna miss home like hell."
>"You're like a brother to me, man, shut your stupid ass up with that."

>>5777346
>"I ain't sad to be moving outta here."
>"I won't," you say, trying to sound more certain than you are.

>>5777346
>"I'm gonna miss home like hell."
>"You're like a brother to me, man, shut your stupid ass up with that."

Home is home is home. Simple as.

File: averagedayindetroit.png (1002 KB, 736x541)

1002 KB PNG

>>5778021
>Home is home is home. Simple as.
Counterpoint; Brademer is in Detroit.

>>5778039
And with that attitude, what will ever change?

>>5778043
Our address.

Vote called for missing home and being like a brother. Writing.

>>5778039
Technically Brademer is Detroit, but yes. It's not the most glamorous city.

>"I'm gonna miss home like hell."
>"You're like a brother to me, man, shut your stupid ass up with that."

"Alright, alright, forget I asked." He's trying to look unaffected, but the smile tugging at his mouth puts the lie to it. He's touched and doesn't want to show it.

"Exactly. Now check up."

The ball passes from your hands to his and back, then the game is on again.

Your mind wanders as you play. You knew ABL players were rich, but seventy thousand dollars is more money than you've ever had in your life. And once the season starts, you'll be getting thirty-six thousand every two weeks for the next year. And then you're guaranteed slight increases for the next two years, even if you never get another ABL contract again.

You're normally not the best with numbers, but these ones have been lit up in your brain ever since you first heard them. The idea that this is just the beginning of the wealth you're going to be earning over your career is a little hard to wrap your head around. You're not even really sure what to do with all that money. You're a twenty-one year old from the inner city, not some kind of suit-wearing businessman.

For the first time in your life you're going to have more money than you need. Your first thought is...

>You can be loose with the rest of it, right? Splash out, do whatever, you've earned it.
>You're going to look after the ones that matter to you before even thinking of doing anything else with it.
>You're in over your head. You're going to ask one of your teammates about it.
>Mmm... Basketball... I like basketball...

>>5778240
>You're in over your head. You're going to ask one of your teammates about it.
70K is small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, and I doubt he realises yet that until he starts raking in sponsorship money a good chunk of that mil may go on expenses involved with being a pro athlete (trainers/rent/nutritionalists ect ect).
He'll have more to splash around and give back if he plays smart with it now

>>5778240
>You can be loose with the rest of it, right? Splash out, do whatever, you've earned it.
Optimizing is not fun.

>>5778240
>You're in over your head. You're going to ask one of your teammates about it.

>>5778240
>You're in over your head. You're going to ask one of your teammates about it.

>>5778240
>You're in over your head. You're going to ask one of your teammates about it.
We gotta care of dad tho

>>5778240

>>You can be loose with the rest of it, right? Splash out, do whatever, you've earned it.

If there's one thing I learned about money, it's that it never runs out!

>>5778240
>You're in over your head. You're going to ask one of your teammates about it.

>>5778240
>You're in over your head. You're going to ask one of your teammates about it.

>>5778240
>You're going to look after the ones that matter to you before even thinking of doing anything else with it.
Take care of our own first.

>>5778240
>Mmm... Basketball... I like basketball...

>>5778240
>You're going to look after the ones that matter to you before even thinking of doing anything else with it.

Obviously the most protagonist motivation is to support our loved ones.

>>5778240
>Mmm... Basketball... I like basketball...
Is this like some sort of factory reset? Brain can't compute what to do with cash so it reverts back to ball? If so that's hilarious

>>5778279
>>5778330
>>5778371
>>5778380
>>5778497
Y'all really believe we're going to get sound financial advice from 90s Basketball players living in not!Miami?

>>5778599
Some of them, yes. The oldheads probably fucked up enough to know what not to do, and at least one of our teammates can hook us up with a financial advisor.
Whether or not that advisor is worth a damn is another thing entirely, but I digress.

>>5778240
>You're in over your head. You're going to ask one of your teammates about it.
I wanna pick the basketball goes burr option so bad, but I also don't want our guy to be living out of a box six months after retiring.

Calling the vote for asking a teammate. Writing.

I am quite tired. I'll warn you guys if I run out of steam and go to sleep, but I'll try and crank it out.

Also, there are a couple of days coming up over the next few where I'm going to be busy all day and not really able to get a post out. It'll be a little rocky, but bear with me, I'm not ditching.

>You're in over your head. You're going to ask one of your teammates about it.

You've got no idea where to even start. You should probably be picking someone else's brain on this, ideally one of the vets. They'd have been through this sort of thing before, right? They were all rookies once. It tracks in your head.

But right now you're hundreds of miles away from Heat City and your team. You're on a basketball court, playing on autopilot while your mind drifts. You'll have to get around to that later.

Anthony's driving hard into the paint and you're right on his hip. Someone on your team moves over from their man on the outside, arm forward to try and take a swipe at the ball. Anthony lobs the ball over him, and the recipient drains the shot.

You move to collect the ball for the next round when another one comes rocketing at you. You catch it and follow the path to see someone you don't recognise striding onto the court.

"You the ABL nigga?" the interloper asks in a tone that carries a hint of an edge. Not enough of one that you're getting ready to hoof it if he reaches for his pockets, thankfully, but you're feeling some kind of challenge brewing.

"Yeah, that's me. Need something?"

He smirks. "Yeah, you could say that. I wanna see what you got. From where I was standin' you don't look all that."

"Uh-huh." You glance over your shoulder at the guys you were playing with and point at the newcomer. "This guy good?" You don't normally hoop here, else you'd probably recognise him. The courts you regularly play on are getting renovated, and you were in the area with the homies grabbing food anyways.

You're not waiting long for an answer. "Andre? The Raygun? Yeah, he really tears it up out here."

"You for real? He's got a superhero name and everything? Whatever. You guys don't mind if we hog the court for a bit?"

"Nah," someone else says, "I wanna watch this."

Apparently everyone else agrees, since the halfcourt is emptied out within the next few moments while you and Andre hash out the rules. First to nine, scorer keeps it.

You're not worried about this. Again, there are levels to this. Street ballers like Andre look like the real deal to a lot of people, but there's a damn good reason that only one of you's been drafted to the ABL. If this guy was good enough to cut it in the league, he would be there. Still, you will have to lock in a little.

What's the gameplan, hotshot? You've no doubts you're gonna win, it's just a matter of in what fashion it happens.

>Hold back enough that it's obvious. Make a point.
>No need to get cute with it, just play for real and get this over with.
>Your blood's up now. Let loose on this guy.

>>5779018
>No need to get cute with it, just play for real and get this over with.

Stone cold. Finish him. And let's not get injured lol

>>5779018
>No need to get cute with it, just play for real and get this over with.
Just take all that air of his sails but letting our skills speak for themselves.

>>5779018
>No need to get cute with it, just play for real and get this over with.
Keep our cool, get the sharp guy to waste that edge of his.

>>5779018
>>No need to get cute with it, just play for real and get this over with.

Not worth the effort

>>5779018
>Your blood's up now. Let loose on this guy.

>>5779018
>No need to get cute with it, just play for real and get this over with.
He'll get the ABL experience. Nothing more, nothing less.

>>5779018
>No need to get cute with it, just play for real and get this over with.

>He's got a superhero name and everything?
kek

Vote called for playing for real. Writing.

"You can have the ball first, if you really want," you tell Andre. "I don't wanna hear no cryin' about how you couldn't get a hand on the ball."

He starts out at the top of the arc and tests you with a few fancy dribbles that go nowhere. They sure look neat, but it's just him wasting his energy. There are a few neat little tricks in there where his body language shifts as he prepares to counter against a swipe at the ball that would catch most people off guard, but most people don't know the game as well as you.

When he finally gets moving is when you spring into action, pressing up on him. He tries to bump you off him with his off shoulder, but you've got size and strength on him. So he switches it up, head faking left before crossing over and trying to speed past you on the other side, but you stay right with him there too, keeping him out near the perimeter.

Someone starts counting down from ten as you keep bumping and sliding to keep him away from the basket. He gets to two when Andre tries it from the three point line, fading away just to try and get some space from you. You leap for it and feel your fingertips brush against the bottom of the ball as it flies, landing some feet short and off to one side.

He probably would've missed even if you didn't get a touch on it. That's a shot even you'd have some difficulty with. There's a reason they don't shoot that kind of shit in the ABL if they don't have to.

You stopped him dead. How normal is that for you?

>You don't normally do that against serious players. You're an offensive-orientated player.
>You can get a stop when you need to. You're a balanced player.
>You're a bit disappointed you even let him get a shot up. You're a defensive-orientated player.

>>5779712
>You don't normally do that against serious players. You're an offensive-orientated player.

POWEEEEEEERRRRRRR

>>5779712
>You don't normally do that against serious players. You're an offensive-orientated player.

>>5779712
>You can get a stop when you need to. You're a balanced player.

>>5779712
>You can get a stop when you need to. You're a balanced player.

Defense is very important. Let's you stay on the court when your shot isn't falling.

>>5779712
>You can get a stop when you need to. You're a balanced player.

>>5779712
>You don't normally do that against serious players. You're an offensive-orientated player.

I'd rather we specialize on something.

>>5779712
>You can get a stop when you need to. You're a balanced player.
Think this fits more with our point guard role.

>>5779712
>>You can get a stop when you need to. You're a balanced player.

File: POWERRRRR.gif (171 KB, 240x166)

171 KB GIF

>>5779712
>>You don't normally do that against serious players. You're an offensive-orientated player.
>>5779717

>>5779712
>You don't normally do that against serious players. You're an offensive-orientated player.
Point guard baby, you will never not see Marcus going in.

One of the aforementioned busy days has hit. I am dead tired. Vote call and update sometime tomorrow.

>>5779712
>You can get a stop when you need to. You're a balanced player.

Vote called for balance. I've got a couple things to do, then I'll get writing.

>You can get a stop when you need to. You're a balanced player.
Because of the close vote I will include a slight offensive slant in your starting skillset.


"Aight, aight, you got clamps," he says as he gets ready to pass the ball back to you at the same spot you gave it to him. "Me too, nigga."

You admire his confidence. You've already got the measure of each other by now, and he should realise that you're just bigger, stronger, and faster than him. You could just play full bully-ball on him, forcing your way to the basket by overpowering him. And you do for a little bit, at least until he complains about it when you're up 5-0.

You take a similar to tack to him in his only offensive possession, testing him with a few dribble moves. Unlike him, your moves aren't one-off tricks, they're staples of basketball executed with poise and intent to get him to move his feet. He does, shuffling to your right to shut you off after you fake going that way with your head and a step. You bounce the ball back to your left hand as you switch directions and blaze past him to the left and get a clean layup at the rim. The score ticks up in your head, 6-0.

Next time he's more cautious and less willing to commit, so you just blow by him to the right instead. 7-0.

He starts a bit further back from you on the next play, giving himself a bit more space before you're past him. You do a few quick dribbles close to the ground, sizing him up and getting him antsy. Then you take a launching step to get him bouncing back to keep up with your drive. The drive never comes, interrupted by an escape dribble and a hop back to pull up with a jumpshot. The ball doesn't even touch the hoop. 8-0.

The closest you get to flashy is when he presses right up on you and you have to shield the ball from him with your body. You pivot backwards like you're going to spin and drive, then smoothly pivot back the other way, bounce the ball forward between your legs, then push off to keep up with it. He manages to scramble back to keep just behind you, so you evade his block by finishing with a double-clutch layup that sees you rolling the ball into your off hand and feathering it in on the other side of the basket to his outstretched arm.

"Nine to nothing," you say, only sweating from the fact that you'd been playing for an hour or more beforehand. Andre, on the other hand, looks more than a little winded. He's less upset than you were expecting, though.

"My mistake, man, damn, I didn't realise you were really like that."

You laugh lightly, more with him than at him. "Yeah, I just take it easy when I play at the park. Speaking of, we're four on four right now. You and your boy wanna come in?"

And that's how you spend the rest of the evening until sunset looms, playing ball and shooting the breeze. Turns out Andre nearly made it into a D1 college, and he's a fairly good guy besides the ego; you can't really fault him for that given what you said to the nation a few days ago.

>>5781899
++Six days later, July 20th, 1996, Saturday++

Los Prados is... interesting. America's Playground really lives up to its name. You've already heard accents from all over the US and a few foreigners, and at night the stars are overshadowed by the neon signs and bright lights of the city in a way you've never seen before in Brademer. You've heard people call Empire City 'The City That Never Sleeps', but to you it feels like that should be what they call Los Prados.

It's certainly the city where you struggle to get much sleep, between the fact that your fellow rookies keep organising late-night events, the fact that the city itself keep trying to entice you into partying until dawn, and how your blinds don't ever quite block out the light.

The fact that someone in the hotel room next to you is very loudly having sex right now might also have something to do with that. You give up on it for the night and throw on some nightclothes to head out.

There are a variety of locations you could go. You remember some of the other guys here for the Summer League mentioning a party at the Starlight Lounge, a nightclub and, well, lounge nearby. Then there's the Santa Fortuna Casino, which is where your hotel is connected to. There's the lit-up Vega Park where you've heard you can find somewhere quiet. There's the sponsored Dine-'n-Dive arena complex where you'll be playing once the league starts on Monday, where you're pretty sure you'll be able to find a way in and somewhere to practice. You could also get some food, familiar or classy, or just wander around, or... hell, basically anything.

Where are you going?

>Starlight Lounge
>Santa Fortuna Casino
>Vega Park
>Dine-'n-Dive Arena
>An actual Dine 'n Dive
>The first restaurant to catch your eye
>Wander the streets
>Write-in (make up a place or just an idea)

>>5781900
>>Starlight Lounge
>>Santa Fortuna Casino

Something flashy. It's Los Prados.

>>5781900
>Wander the streets

Nah bros don't give our guy a gambling addiction or at the mercy of ABL hoes. Let us wander and see what we find.

>>5781900
>Wander the streets by neon lights
Random encounter!

>>5781900
>Wander the streets
What could go wrong?

>>5781900
>Wander the streets
M-M-M-MYSTERY BOX

>>5781900
>Wander the streets
We'll be fine, we have the power of basketball and our sports anime protagonist aura on our side

>>5781900
>Wander the streets

>>5781900
>Starlight Lounge
Everyones voting for mystery box but I'll still throw my hat into this one. Love me some jazz club hopeing it's a jazz club at least and not a club club noir shit in my quests.

Great quest so far by the way QM, I don't know dick about basketball but the writing carries me more than enough to get over my unfamiliarity. Can't wait for us to get into doping, drugs, hookers and sex tapes later on in our career, like all the best athletes.

I am once again busy for the next little bit so the post is delayed. Rest assured that it is coming.

>>5782636
Glad to hear it, anon. I'll do my best to keep it up.

>>5781900
>Starlight Lounge

Good news and bad news.

Transport issues (read: I missed a really important train) mean that I am currently free earlier than I expected. These transport issues have only delayed when I will be occupied, and likely made it take a little longer once it actually comes around.

Regardless, I'm free now. Calling vote for anon's intense obsession with anything even vaguely shaped like a mystery box.

Back in Brademer, an aimless night walk would be asking for trouble, especially in Bonhomme's Point where you grew up. But that's not where you are right now. You're going to take the freedom to walk around as you please and you're going to enjoy it.

The sun set a few hours ago, but the streets are still occupied by people going to and fro, the occasional car or limo, and a couple of street performers who you can't imagine have been out here all this time. The streets are bathed in neon light of varying hues, and the sounds of humanity are inescapable whether they come from the sidewalks or the buildings you pass by. At one point a man rides past you on a unicycle, juggling a pair of flaming torches with one hand while holding out a small bucket for donations in the other in a feat of remarkable coordination, balance, and stupidity. You throw a few spare coins into the bucket just on respect alone, and you see him grin at you as he rolls past. As soon as he's turned the corner behind you it almost feels like it never happened.

While you're roaming, you see a stand with a small gathering of people watching the road. A sign near the top advertises a night tour of Los Prados by bus. It's not exactly what you were thinking of doing, but you were looking to explore the city a little, so it can't hurt to try it out.

Ten minutes later you're sitting atop a tour bus, tuning out the woman who occasionally stands up and starts talking about the history of the various places you pass by.

As the route continues, you start to see posters and signs advertising the upcoming Summer League games. You can even pick yourself out on the poster, not as one of the main faces but in an action pose behind them. You don't remember ever getting photographed in that pose, but there were a lot of photos in that photoshoot after the Draft, so you wouldn't be surprised if you did and forgot it. You glance across the other occupants of the bus and spot two people wearing ABL team-brand shirts, both unsurprisingly for Los Prados' own home team, the Los Prados Lights.

>>5783592
Not long after, you come up to the epicentre of the advertising: The Dine-'n-Dive Arena, where the twenty-day league is going to be held. You see the guide stand up again and tune in, curious.

"You may have heard, but the ABL's Summer League is being held over the next three weeks in the complex to my left," she says, a microphone conveying her voice across the bus. "One hundred and sixteen games where exciting young talents exhibit their skills to the world, and for the price of a ticket, for you. In fact, we have on this very bus one of those young talents: Marcus Shields. Stand up and give us a wave!"

You stiffen uncomfortably at this. For a moment your mind races to work out how they knew, then you remember that you bought a ticket under your name and are a tall, young, obviously athletic black man in a crowd of mostly-white tourists. Still, your name's recognisable like that?

Might as well get it over with. With as little awkwardness as you can, you stand up and wave to moderate applause and a few cheers. "I'll put on a show, for any of you guys who've got tickets," you hear yourself say, prompting another outburst before you sit down.

The guide continues her spiel and the tourists' attention is drawn away from you again, leaving you to absorb your first taste of fame. It's not quite being recognised on the street by a stranger, but what's your first reaction to getting singled out like that?

>That was absolutely mortifying
>You're not going to have much privacy, are you?
>It's uncomfortable, but not entirely unwelcome
>You could get used to this kind of attention
>Write-in

>>5783595
>You're not going to have much privacy, are you?

>>5783595
>>You're not going to have much privacy, are you?
Fame has good sides and bad sides, we better get used to it

>>5783595
>>You're not going to have much privacy, are you?

>>5783595
>You're not going to have much privacy, are you?

>>5783595
>You're not going to have much privacy, are you?
The fame is secondary to the BALLIN', of course.

>>5783595
>You're not going to have much privacy, are you?
If that's the price you have to pay to ball, so be it.

>>5783595
>You're not going to have much privacy, are you?

>>5783595
>>You're not going to have much privacy, are you?
>You're not going to have much privacy, are you?

>>5783595
>You're not going to have much privacy, are you?

>>5783595
>You could get used to this kind of attention
Everyone goes asshole mode for the first few months.

>>5784803
Not Marcus, apparently. Vote called for lamenting an upcoming lack of privacy.

After this update, I will be busy with other things again and will be posting from a different ID. Apparently I changed IDs once already this thread and that wasn't a problem, but still.

>You're not going to have much privacy, are you?

It's kind of strange. In your childhood, only the made superstars received any real public recognition. You knew the ABL was surging in popularity in recent times, but knowing that and experiencing it are two different things. You know you'll be a star one day, but most don't know that yet. And yet you're still enough to draw a little attention as a fresh-faced rookie. You guess it's just a sign that you're not going to have a whole lot of privacy in your career. If that's the price for balling, so be it.

The rest of the night goes without incident. The tour concludes and you return to the hotel to get some sleep.

++Two days later, July 22nd, 1996, Monday++

It's opening day of the Summer League. Every team with a draft pick in the top ten or twelve has a game today, which naturally includes you and Honeycutt on the Hotshots. Your father tells you that today's tickets are immensely more expensive than every day that isn't the closing day. He didn't have to deal with that, though. All you had to do was ask and your dad got free courtside tickets for every day you played. You had to pay for travel and accommodation, but it's a worthy expense. If you can't spend some of seventy grand on letting your own father watch your first games in the red and black of the Hotshots, what the hell can you spend it on?

You feel good as you run onto the court. This feels right. You're in the starting lineup as the Point Guard alongside Honeycutt at Centre. The only other two guys actually connected to the Hotshots on the team are Joe Anderson and Luke Sperry. Joe got picked late in the second round this year, while Luke's a second-year guy picked twenty-fifth last year. They're starting at Power Forward and Small Forward respectively, but not much is expected of either of them. The stage is yours and Eddie's.

And Julian White's, who despite the name is black as hell. Drafted two picks ahead of you by the Hotshots' in-state rivals, the Gatlin Tropics, he's the other team's main star. He runs the Shooting Guard primarily, so neither you nor Eddie will be matching up with him a whole lot, but you'll certainly be keeping an eye on him. You may end up on each other at times, given you're only a position apart.

>>5785007
As you line up for the starting tip-off, you're mentally preparing. This is a big moment for you, but you've never been daunted or moved by the pressure of the moment. You just keep your calm, drifting into a state of total focus. That focus ebbs and flows, not always there as much as you like, but it's always taken over when you've felt the pressure to perform. You are what most would call 'clutch'. But that's not now. You're locked in, but you're not in that next gear.

The referee hurls the ball up into the air, and Eddie springs into the air to slap it to you. The other guy never really had a chance. Eddie's 7'3 with even longer arms and a hell of a quick jump for a man that size.

The ball is, almost literally, in your court as you bring the ball up the floor. First possession of your first game, and given that the team had only a day or two to train together as a unit you've got a green light to not try and run too many set plays.

>Run a pick & roll with Eddie
>Get your man in isolation and beat him
>Improvise, open up a crack and then exploit it
>Throw it to Eddie in the low post and let him work
>Try to run one of the plays the team half-learned
>Write in

>>5785010
>Improvise, open up a crack and then exploit it
This will go fine, right?

>>5785010
>Throw it to Eddie in the low post and let him work
He's 7'3" for Christ's sake, let's make the most of that.

>>5785010
Simple and easy. Let's see what type of big man Eddie is. We can get a mismatch, a cutter to the basket, or some separation for a jump shot.

>Run a pick & roll with Eddie

>>5785010
>Run a pick & roll with Eddie
I really wanna see how Eddie and Marcus work together.

>>5785010
>Run a pick & roll with Eddie
I was between that and throwing it to him, but anon seems to know what he's talking about even if I only understand half the words he used.

>>5785010
>>Run a pick & roll with Eddie

>>5785010
>Run a pick & roll with Eddie

>>5785010
>Improvise, open up a crack and then exploit it

>>5785010
>Improvise, open up a crack and then exploit it

>>5785010
>Run a pick & roll with Eddie

We already know Marcus is good at isos let's see how good he is at the most common NBA play ever

Sorry for the wait, anons. The QM Curse was doing its best, but I prevailed over it for now.

Vote called for a pick & roll. Could I get three d10s?

Rolled 1 (1d10)

>>5789439
Surely we won't make an ass out of ourselves on our first play

File: image (6).jpg (22 KB, 480x360)

22 KB JPG

>>5789446
It's already over

>>5789446
Given that this is the very first roll of the quest, I'm going to say you can reroll that if you like. And make it a d12, because the rolls were meant to be d12s. I'm just a bit scrambled and said d10s.

Rolled 10 (1d12)

>>5789439

Rolled 1 (1d12)

>>5789439
I can see it now. Marcus makes a baffling decision to dribble away from Eddie's screen before slipping and throwing the ball away

>>5789519
RNGesus clearly wants Marcus in the doghouse

Rolled 10 (1d12)

>>5789439

>2 1s
>2 10s
Is this a sign?

Rolled 8 (1d10)

>>5789439
Ya'll realized he asked for d10's, right?

>>5789576
>>5789455
>Given that this is the very first roll of the quest, I'm going to say you can reroll that if you like. And make it a d12, because the rolls were meant to be d12s. I'm just a bit scrambled and said d10s.
Buddy...

>>5789580
ay my bad, I can't read for SHIT

>>5789588
I wouldn't worry about it. I was the one who had the brain lapse.

>10, 1, 10
Writing.

>>5789601
Alright, I hope good shit happens.Time to slice and dice, swish and dish, swoop and hoop.

>Run a pick & roll with Eddie
>10, 1, 10

Normally a pick & roll progresses with the big man coming out to the perimeter, blocking the path of the ball handler's defender with his body to give the ball handler some separation from him, then the pair of them racing to the basket while both defenders scramble to cover both angles. It's one of the most basic yet effective plays in basketball, and everyone knows it. Your defender knows it, which is why he sees it coming and starts trying to work his way past Eddie's brick wall of a screen ahead of you. You know it too, which is why you plant your foot and rocket back the other way to counter off the screen the moment he's entangled.

That leaves Eddie's defender sprinting to keep up with you. He didn't come all the way out with Eddie, but he's a tad slow-footed and can't quite cut off your driving lane. That doesn't mean you've got free airspace though. He's taller than you and has longer arms than you.

Not a problem. You go up as if to lay the ball in, then spring away from him and flick the ball up over his arms towards the hoop. If that were a shot, it'd be an airball. But it's not a shot. It's a pass, placed somewhere only its intended recipient can reach.

Eddie, rolling down the lane like an avalanche and guarded only by a man he's got a whole foot on, soars into the air. He extends a gargantuan arm out to easily collect the ball in one paw, then hammers it home. His defender leaps with him, but practically bounces off. All he achieves is fouling Eddie and making it an and-one.He flexes and roars for the crowd, prompting a storm of camera flashes, then fistbumps you as he passes. He sinks the free throw too, making it a traditional three point play to open up the game.

>>5789765
But that's just the first ten seconds of a forty-eight minute game. This is a long way from over, as you're reminded when the Tropics come right back the other way to score. The rest of the quarter is a battle of buckets that ends 33-29 in your favour.

The coach, a rail-thin man with an army-esque buzz cut, starts the second quarter with you on the bench. You're getting your breath back after a frenetic twelve minutes, but your mind is still active. You're not thinking of how well you've showcased yourself and your talents, and you're not studying the game to gauge the other players. Instead, you're considering your mistakes. You came into this determined to test yourself, after all. And indeed, there was one mistake—minor to others but major to you—this quarter that you're going to be thinking about when you're practicing this summer.

What was it?

>You missed a skip pass that would've given a wide open corner three, and instead got double teamed
>You overreached when going in for a steal and let your man blow by you to score
>You got didn't protect your layup well enough and saw it slammed off the backboard by the opposing Centre
>You lost your handle while driving through traffic and had to settle for an awkward contested fadeaway
>You bricked a jumpshot off the bounce that you [i]swear[/i] you normally make

>>5789767
>>You lost your handle while driving through traffic and had to settle for an awkward contested fadeaway

>>5789767
>You bricked a jumpshot off the bounce that you swear you normally make

Pretty hard choice here but I'm torn between this and passing so that Marcus's game ages better when he loses his quickness

>>5789767
>You bricked a jumpshot off the bounce that you swear you normally make
Think this might annoy him the most, especially considering how competitive he is

>>5789767
>You overreached when going in for a steal and let your man blow by you to score

>>5789767
>You bricked a jumpshot off the bounce that you [i]swear[/i] you normally make

Vote called for having badly missed a jumpshot. I sure do wish I had air conditioning.

>>5789767
>>You bricked a jumpshot off the bounce that you [i]swear[/i] you normally make
Late vote.

>>5791341
F

>>5791362
You voted for the winning option anyway, so it's all good.

>You bricked a jumpshot off the bounce that you [i]swear[/i] you normally make

Looking back on it, the mistake is obvious, if hard to avoid. When you shoot the ball, you generally jump to get higher and send the ball over a defender's arms. It's not always easy to keep that jump as controlled as it should be, especially in a high-intensity scenario. When you lose balance in the air, you generally miss, and that's exactly what happened.

You'd been moving towards the basket when you ran into a big man who cut off both your drive and any easy pass you could've made behind him to the man he'd left open. So you'd faked a pass to a different teammate, then changed direction with a hop and leapt to fire in a pocket of space between the big man who'd come over to help and the man who was guarding you. It's a fairly simple move in theory, but the footwork is difficult when you're in such a rush and surrounded by people just as athletic as you. Thus, you missed a shot that would've ended a drought of scoring for your team.

That's what practice is for.

You don't get much more time to meditate on it, as soon enough you're thrust back into the game.

You get substituted in and out a few more times throughout the game, as usual. You're not looking at the numbers of it, but you feel like you're having a pretty good game. Certainly good enough that when the game gets close down the final stretch, you're in the whole way.

>>5791380
Thirty-one seconds left to go in the game. The Hotshots are down by two and it's the Tropics bringing up the ball. You're doing your best to harass the other team's Point Guard as he dribbles, but you're not in a position to gamble with a lunge to take the ball yourself. Right now you just need to make scoring as difficult as possible so that the Hotshots can collect the miss and then score themselves. If there's an opportunity to steal it you'll go for it, of course, but the other guy's got a tight enough handle of the ball to fend you off.

You see him gesture for a screen, and a glance back shows you Julian White advancing on you. You've had to guard him a few times this game. You can stay on him, but he's got enough size on you to make it a bit of a mismatch. You've no doubt that's what they're looking for.

When someone sets a screen, the traditional option is for the ball handler's defender to simply fight through the screen and stay with their man. When it's a situation like this, however, there's the possibility of switching. The defender caught in the screen defends the screener, while the screener's defender swaps onto the ball handler. It lets the opposition target a defender they want to go at, but it also means that the confusion and disruption a screen can cause is mitigated. You're not a worse defender than the man currently on Julian, you don't think, but Julian would be able to try and leverage his size advantage against you if you switched. In theory you then have a speed and agility advantage, but an attacking player has more control over the pace and direction of play, meaning that they can exploit their advantages more easily than a defender can.

That leaves you picking your poison. Do you try to fight around the screen or do you signal for a switch?

>Fight around it
>Signal a switch

>>5791381
>Fight around it
We barely know the other guy, let alone how good of a defender he is. I'm gonna opt for handling our own business if he's not giving us any obvious hints that he's struggling.

>>5791381
>Fight around it

>>5791381
>Fight around it

>>
>>
>>5791381
>>Signal a switch

Time for a switch bros. Opposition PG is signaling a screen at the top of the key/at or around the 3 point line most likely. There's 31 seconds left. They're probably trying to milk the shot clock[24 seconds] and get a high quality basket. Fighting the screen isn't worth the chance it doesn't work. Better we switch and if they target us we make Julian work for it. There is of course always the option to double team if he tries to post up or he iso's us.

Also I'm an Anon that travels so my ID will be different occasionally but it will say traveling anon.

>>5791381
>Signal a switch
The namefag used many unknown words so he must be right.

>>5791381
>Signal a switch

>>5791545
>Make Julian work for it?
But can we though? He's got a size advantage on us.

>>5791381
>Fight around it
We need to check how good Marcus is at on ball defense and if he's skilled/quick enough to get around screens anyway. We can save the switches for when Marcus knows his team better

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>5791381
Help! I don't actually know anything about basketball!

1=Fight
2=Switch

Vote called for fighting around the screen. Roll me 3d12, please.

Rolled 7 (1d12)

>>5792299
I presume you mean 3 1d12s?

Rolled 4 (1d12)

>>5792299
Marcus to the coach's doghouse

>>5792400
Yes.

Rolled 5 (1d12)

>>5792299

>Fight around it
>7, 4, 5

If they're looking for a matchup of you on White, you won't give it to them. You'll fight across the screen.

There are, strictly speaking, two ways to fight across a screen. You can let the screener go between you and your man, or you can stay between your man and the screener. In basketball terminology, this is going under a screen and over a screen respectively. Going under is easier as you have more space, but it allows the ball handler more breathing room to find a pass or take a shot. Going over a screen lets you stick close to your man and deny him that room, but it also lets him drive to the basket while you're entangled with the screener.

You've got a 7'3 beast of a Centre standing under the rim right now. You're not scared of a drive.

You press up on the Tropics' Point Guard, squeezing into the narrow space between him and Julian. You're small enough to fit, but Julian doesn't make it easy, leaning his shoulders into you and subtly trying to hook his elbow into you. It doesn't slow you down much, but it's enough to let your man get a step ahead of you and sprint for the basket. You follow him, but realistically this is down to Eddie now.

Eddie steps up to challenge the drive, keeping one hand up to interfere with a scoring attempt and one hand out to try and block any space for a pass behind him. The driver still manages to bounce a pass off the ground to find Eddie's man, but it's an awkward pass that gets fumbled before it's properly caught, which gives Eddie enough time to turn back around and aggressively challenge the shot. The shot misses, but Eddie fouled the guy pretty hard to make sure of that, so he gets two shots from the free throw line, each worth one point. If he'd made it, the basket would've counted for two and he'd have had another free throw to possibly get three points out of it. That's what Eddie did on the first play of the game, you recall.

Of everyone to get free throws, a Centre is probably the best for you. Their skillsets rarely include shooting as a focus, so their shooting form is a bit more awkward and less repeatable. Sure enough, he misses the first and makes the second.

Normally a team has twenty-four seconds from when they get the ball to put it through the hoop. There are a bunch of little rules around the sides of that to account for a bunch of little edge cases, but the only one that's relevant here is that if there is less time left in the game than there would be on the shot clock, they set it to the game clock. With twenty seconds left in the game, the game and shot clocks are identical. It's your ball, and you're behind by three points. Before you get the chance to do anything, your coach calls a timeout.

>>5793457
Heading into the huddle, you're curious as to what coach has in mind. You're down by three. He could go for a quick bucket, then start fouling and rely on the other team missing their free throws and his own team getting points quickly enough to catch up. If they got an and-one play, that'd be even better.

As it turns out, that's not what he's planning.

"Alright boys, everyone take a moment to settle down!" He has to shout to be heard over the audience. You have no idea how many people are in the arena right now, but it has to be in the thousands, and they're all talking. It's like a college game on smack; the buzz of noise is incredible.

You notice the coach locking eyes with you. He's asking a question. [i]Are you ready?[/i]

>You're ready
>You're not sure

>>5793458
>>You're ready
Hero ball time

>>5793458
>You're ready
Put me in coach

>>5793458
>You're ready

Of course we are.

>>5793458
>You're ready
We were born ready.

Vote called, unsurprisingly, for being up to the challenge. We'll soon see if you really are. Writing.

>You're ready

Of course you're ready. You're no stranger to buzzer beater situations. Your last-second heroics made it into sports magazines across the country, even if Michigan State proceeded to get drummed out of the national semifinals right afterward.

Coach gives you a tiny nod, then looks around to everyone else. "Listen up!" he says sternly, brandishing his handheld whiteboard... thing. You never learned what they were called. "Here's the play!"

With a time out after a made basket, the ball gets inbounded from the sidelines halfway up the court rather than on the other side of the court to the basket you need to score on. You're getting the ball passed in to you, then there'll be a whole bunch of movements off-ball by your teammates to distract the other team. They'll be trying to get the team's other three-point shooters open. You've got the green light to make the call on whether you make the pass, on the off chance someone actually gets open, or if you just fake it to throw off the defence. Otherwise, the shot to tie it is yours. Make it and you head into a five minute overtime period. Miss it and you lose, failing under the spotlight when your team's watching to see how you perform.

You close your eyes, letting the sounds of the arena wash over you. One by one, you imagine the sounds and distractions as little boxes that you pick up and put in a trash can, emptying out your mind of everything other that's not on a basketball court. You see yourself hitting the shot. Nothing but net.

Time to make it happen. Roll me three d12s, please.

Rolled 2 (1d12)

>>5794682
Mmmmm...basketball...

Rolled 4 (1d12)

>>5794682

Rolled 2 (1d12)

>>5794682

Oof, low is bad right? I think we just airballed, got our ball stolen, or got it blocked.

>>5794691
>>5794776
>>5794834
:(

>>5794691
>>5794776
>>5794834
Rough. Thankfully I am lenient and so is the very vague system I've set up, and frankly it's more fun to write about success than failure, so it's not *too* bad for you.

No guarantees that the update will be today. I'm fairly worn out and still have things to do. But I will try. Tomorrow at the very latest.

>>5796297
Good luck OP. Thanks for the communication.

>>5794691
>>5794776
>>5794834
Vintage Kobe everybody. At least this opens up drama from the team and management

As soon as you step onto the court, Julian is pressing up into your personal space, and he only gets more aggressive as the inbounder—the man passing the ball in from the sidelines—gets the ball handed to him, blocking you off from him and corralling you with elbows and shoulders. Apparently the other team knows where the ball's going too, and they think Julian's the one to stop you.

If you can't get free, they may well be right. You try to outpace him, but a subtle nudge sets you off balance for him to keep up with your burst of speed. Only when you pivot, freezing on the spot and exploding the other way, do you get enough separation for a clean pass. You'd been hoping he would leave off you a little once you actually had the ball, but he stays up in your grill, giving you as little space to dribble as possible.

Normally this is where you, dribbling wizard that you are, would use a clever move to blow past him and drive towards the basket. But you're down three, not two, and you can't rely on getting fouled when the other team knows that perfectly well and is going to try their damnedest to avoid fouling you on a two-point shot. So instead, you just shield the ball with your body and keep half an eye on the clock as it ticks down.

Your teammates do their best to get open, but no clean pass emerges by the time the clock ticks down to five seconds left. You've backed up a little, giving yourself a bit of space to manoeuvre behind the three point line.

You back off with a quick move, throw a fake or two to get Julian guessing, then in the middle of what looks all the world like another dribble move testing Julian you explode into a full sprint around him. As soon as you hit the three point line you stop and pull up into a shot. Someone's probably running towards you now, but your sight is fixed on the hoop as you begin your shooting motion. You can already see the ball going in-

And then Julian's arm cracks across your wrists from behind, throwing your shot off. The Tropics start cheering as soon as the shot clanks off the backboard, while you're screaming for a foul. Your team gathers around you, backing up your point and smacking their wrists demonstratively even though you're not entirely sure they saw it.

For a few moments it's pandemonium on the court and the referees have to break off from you to discuss amongst themselves. The crowd doesn't know what to think, torn between triumphantly dismissive Tropics fans, outraged Hotshots fans, and confused neutral observers. With your focus rattled and your emotions flaring, you know the feeling. You get gently tugged away to the bench by a teammate, and someone hands you a bottle of water which you start gulping down.

A few moments later you get your answer as one of the referees speaks into the arena's sound system.

"The referees have discussed and made their decision," the voice booms. "It is a shooting foul on Julian White, and three free throws for Marcus Shields."

>>5797427
The energy shift is instant, but you don't feel it. You're still on the hook to make three clutch free throws in a row. And even that just makes it a tie game. This isn't over yet.

As you step up to the free throw line, you get an odd feeling like you're watching yourself from the outside. You breathe and let it pass, trying to stay as un-rattled as you can. The key to a free throw is calmness and repetition. You just need to keep your head and use the same motion you've always used. No outside intereference. Just you, the ball, the hoop, and the fifteen feet between.

The referee throws the ball to you and the crowd amps up, the Tropics fans booing and jeering and waving flags and doing anything they can to throw you off. You bounce the ball once, bounce it again, spin it in your hands, then coolly let your body take over. The first shot goes through the hoop, and while the referees collect the ball again your four teammates come in and each give you a fist bump.

Again you get the ball. Again the crowd turns the volume up. Again you go through the routine and sink the shot.

Instead of a fistbump, Eddie pulls you in for a chest bump. "You wanna go for it?" he asks quietly.

You know what he's talking about. It's a trick almost everyone who hoops has thought about at least once. If a player misses a free throw, normally the referees just collect the ball up and move on to the next shot. But if it's the last shot, it can be rebounded like any other missed shot. The players are positioned such that the team that isn't shooting is the one that gets the rebound nine times out of ten, but every so often a team does collect its own miss. So instead of hitting the free throw and getting one point, it's possible to deliberately miss, hitting it off the rim and towards your teammate, who surges for it and then quickly puts it back through, scoring two points.

It's a trickshot that relies on a lot of things to go right, but you and Eddie have been working pretty well together so far. It could put you up by one and win you the game right here and right now, no overtime necessary. But if it doesn't go right, you've just missed and that's that, you lose.

Are you going to go for it?

>Just shoot the free throw
>Try it

>>5797443
Not sure if "nine times out of ten" is a hint about our chances, but I don't like our dice so far.

>Just shoot the free throw

>>5797443
>>Just shoot the free throw
I am so tempted to pick the other option considering summer league is ultimately meaningless but we just got bailed out by the refs and I'm unwilling to tempt fate again. Also, Marcus could completely miss the rim and automatically give the Tropics the ball

>>5797443
>Just shoot the free throw

Nah boys, let's sink it and see what happens. Overtime or maybe a last minute steal for the win.

>>5797443
>Try it

JUST DO IT. (Also it might make Eddie like us more.)

>>5797443
>Try it
Something something you miss every shot you don't take

Calling the vote for shooting the free throw. Roll me three d12s, please. Don't worry, I'm sure hoopdice aren't cursed.

Rolled 2 (1d12)

>>5798622
I assume 3 1d12s.

File: mfw.jpg (34 KB, 400x400)

34 KB JPG

>>5798684

Rolled 2 (1d12)

>>5798622
COME ON 3G

Rolled 1 (1d12)

>>5798684
>>5798697
...Okay hang on, *are* our dice cursed? This isn't the third roll, I just want to see.

Rolled 4 (1d12)

>>5798622

>>5798771
They are lol. The third dice was much better but damm lol. I hope Eddy gets the missed shot

>>5798622
Lmao if QM's roll was the 3rd one Marcus was going to airball it like Noah did complete with facial expression
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VlJBcG4-7M

Rolled 8 (1d12)

hold on let me try my non cursed dice

>>5799706
Okay, we've found our saving grace. Hopefully you're around to roll next time.

>2, 2, 4

Writing.

>Just shoot the free throw
>2, 2, 4

You shake your head. "I just wanna knock it down." The clock only reads 1.3 seconds, anyway. It's not a sure thing that he'd be able to get the ball back up in time.

For a third time you make it back to the line. One bounce. Two bounces. Spin the ball- did that chick behind the backboard just open up her jacket and start shaking her chest at you as a distraction tactic? What the fuck? This isn't a playoffs elimination game, it's an ultimately meaningless Summer League game, why the hell is she going that far?

And just like that, your focus is broken. Your body goes through the motions, but the shot's off and ball spins around the rim before flying out. Eddie goes for it, but the other guy gets to it first and it devolves into a foul. The game ends, 83-84, the Hotshots lose. You feel like you failed. You were the one they looked to in the clutch, but you missed. Twice. You tell the coach as much when you come off the court, but he's not having it.

"Kid, it's one game. A Summer League game. We all miss shots sometimes."

Wait, 'we'? Only now do you notice that you're craning your neck up to look at him. What was his name again? Walt Johnston?

Oh. Oh shit, he's /that/ Walt Johnston. Two-time champion and one-time Finals MVP Walt Johnston, who took up coaching after retiring and who's now the assistant coach of the Heat City Hotshots. You just fucked up in front of one of the most underrated players of the 1970s.

Mistaking the source of your surprise, he continues, "Yeah, it's true. If we hit every shot we think we should've, I'd have a lot more than two rings. Look, you're a rookie. You had a great game tonight, and nobody's expecting a vet's coolness under pressure from you even if you looked pretty damned close out there. Losing's part of the game. Even Jordan Michaels loses games, and he's been ruling the damned league since '91. You just gotta move past it."

Are you listening?

>You're a sponge; if anyone would know, Walt would
>You'll try and take it aboard, but it's still hard to move on from losing like that
>Nope. You fucked up. More motivation for practicing hard

>>5799833
>You're a sponge; if anyone would know, Walt would
Aww. What a nice guy.

>>5799833
>You're a sponge; if anyone would know, Walt would
Let's not be like MJ and give Marcus a crippling gambling addiction please

>>5799833
>You're a sponge; if anyone would know, Walt would

>>5799833
>You're a sponge; if anyone would know, Walt would

I knew we should've tried it.

>>5799833
>You're a sponge; if anyone would know, Walt would

>>5799833
>>You'll try and take it aboard, but it's still hard to move on from losing like that

Vote called for listening to Walt.

Sorry about the wait, and about the likely wait before this update. I just have things going.

>You're a sponge; if anyone would know, Walt would

"Yeah," you say. "Yeah, okay, Coach."

"Don't 'yeah' me," he tells you gently, "Speak to me. /Tell me/ you understand."

You run a hand over your face, wiping away some of the night's sweat. "It's just one game. I'll get it next time."

Walt smiles at you, and it strikes you that you've not seen him do that before. "That's what I wanna hear." He claps you on the back encouragingly and moves past to speak to some of the other players, leaving you to your thoughts.

>>5804205
Early next morning you find yourself on one of the side gym courts in the arena. The sun rose about a half-hour ago and a few people are on some of the other courts lined up alongside yours, but you were the first one in by at least an hour. You're taking shots from all over the court, stationary and while dribbling and spinning and all the other sorts of shots you might end up taking in a game.

Your body's feeling the fatigue of non-stop work, but you're just shooting through it. You won't always be taking a shot when you're fresh. Being tired means there's less power in your body, which means you need to shoot a little differently, which means a player starts missing their shots. That won't be you. You've got a stopwatch set to go every ten minutes, and every time it goes off you sprint as hard as you can all the way around the outside of the court.

You're... not quite /over/ the defeat, but you think you've taken to heart what Walt said. It was tempting to just stand at the free throw line and practice your routine over and over and over like a madman, trying to make sure you never miss a free throw again, but Walt was right. You can't always hit the shots you want to hit. You missed the free throw because you were distracted by something totally unexpected, and it's... sorta hard to practice for the unexpected. That's why it's unexpected.

Still, you're not slacking off. Your parents raised a hard worker. That's why you're the first to the court, not because of last night's game. It's always been a part of who you are to practice and practice and practice, harder than everyone else. You've had to to get where you are.

It's not like 6'1 is too little for the ABL. Plenty of players have been that or shorter, and one of the team's staff told you recently that you're only a little shorter than the average for your position. But nobody your height has ever won the league's Most Valuable Player award, and the shortest to ever do it is Jordan Michaels, who's five inches taller than you and the kind of athlete you've never been. You want to change that. You don't have the physical gifts that most who make it to the ABL do, but you made it anyway through effort and hard-won skill. You don't see any reason why it can't take you to being officially recognised as the best player in the ABL.

"Marcus! Dobru jutro!"

But that's a long way away. A new voice is drawing your attention. It's Damir, who spotted you from the doorway and is hustling towards your court with a wave.

"What?"

"Good morning!"

"Oh," you grunt as you hit your jumpshot. "Morning. You wanna ball with me?"

He grins. "Of course! I did promise I would, and we have much we can teach each other."

"And a long way to go," you add. Damir nods, then collects up the ball and tosses it back to you.

"Let us waste no time, then." You couldn't agree more.

That's the thread for now, anons. Apologies for the long wait on the capper post. I injured myself helping my mother with something important, which threw quite the wrench in my schedule. Thread 2 won't be immediate, but I fully intend to make it.

Thank you all very much for your interest and participation so far, and I hope you stick with me as I continue. Thank you especially to the people who've expressed that they know nothing about basketball but have still given this quest their attention. I hope I'm doing a good enough job introducing it to you and keeping you involved without a newbie MC who's learning everything from scratch with you.

Nice ending. Thanks for the great thread OP, hope to see you back soon.

Good stuff, OP. Will be waiting on the next installment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0WCBevFCf4

It's been a great read so far, looking forward to Marcus journey. Can't wait to unlock the euro step

>>5804206
>He grins. "Of course! I did promise I would, and we have much we can teach each other."
Damir is going to introduce Marcus to unspeakable knowledge found only in the forbidden tomes of Europe: flopping