” Jasper asked, “Why am I not in the starting lineup?”
“The coach said, “You’re one of our newest players and I think it’d be better to have players with more experience to be starting.”
Jasper said, “I’m better than some of these players, and I can prove it.”
One day, a boy, who was 22-years-old, named Jasper, set up a goal to become a famous, rich basketball player. Suddenly, his dad saw him set up the goal and said, “You can get a serious injury.”
Jasper said, “I’ll make sure I won’t get a serious injury because I’ll do a lot of crossovers and break their ankles.”
His dad said, “Ok.”
Jasper was very excited. His mom heard him and his dad talking.
She said, “What if you get in an argument and get ejected?”
Jasper said, “I won’t argue. Instead, I’ll stop people from arguing.”
Jasper’s mom said, “Ok.”
Then, Jasper’s parents signed Jasper up for the NBA. He was going to be an undrafted player, so his parents took him to a stadium. Once they arrived there, they met a referee. The referee said, “You signed up to be an undrafted player, right?”
Jasper answered, “Yes.”
The referee said, “If you want to be in one of the NBA teams, I have to see if you play well and have a lot of experience.”
Jasper answered, “Ok.”
Jasper and the referee played 1-on-1, knockout, a 3-point contest, and HORSE. Jasper won 1-on-1, 30-28. Jasper won 5 games and the referee won 3 games of knockout. In the 3-point contest, Jasper scored 28 points and the referee scored 24. In HORSE, Jasper had HOR when the referee had HORSE.
The referee yelled, “Wow! You’re so good!”
Jasper replied, “Thanks!”
The referee said, “Well, all I’m going to say is I will go talk to the NBA commissioner about this.”
Jasper screamed loudly, “YES! Thank you so much, sir!”
A few weeks later, Jasper got an email from the NBA commissioner. It said: “Congratulations, Jasper! Based on your skill level, the NBA has decided to allow you to be part of a team. You may pick any team in this list.”
There were only two teams available: Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers. This was a hard decision for Jasper because his favorite teams were the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat. The Cavaliers were 2nd in the East last year. They made it all the way to the Finals, but lost to the Warriors. They also had a really good player that won 4 MVPs, named LeBron James. The Heat were the 10th seed last year, so they didn’t even make it to the playoffs.
After thinking for a long time, he chose the Miami Heat because his favorite player, Dwyane Wade, was on the Heat. Jasper also wanted to help them win a championship again. After a couple months, Jasper played in his first game! Jasper was prepared to play his 1st ever game in the NBA. The 1st game was easy. The final score was 118-100.
Five months went by quickly. Jasper had helped the Heat make it to the NBA Finals against the defending champions, Golden State Warriors. It was the last game in the finals and the series was tied 3 wins to 3 wins. Whoever won this game would be the champions. The game started.
Jasper wasn’t in the starting lineup. In the 1st quarter, Jasper’s team was getting crushed. The score was 31-19.
Jasper asked, “Why am I not in the starting lineup?”
The coach said, “You’re one of our newest players and I think it’d be better to have players with more experience to be starting.”
Jasper said, “I’m better than some of these players, and I can prove it.”
The coach said, “Alright, let’s see what you can do, but I’m going to wait until third quarter.”
They were losing by 30 points. The score was 60-30, so the other team has 2x more points than their team. At halftime, Jasper’s team was losing by 40 points: 90-50! He was worried that the players on the court now were going to make his team lose.
The 3rd quarter started. The coach put Jasper in the game. When Jasper entered as a small forward, the Heats were losing by 30 points, 100-70. They kept on shooting three-pointers but missed a lot. When the 4th quarter began, the score was 110-85. Jasper decided to call for the ball a lot so he could swish every three he took.
The game continued. Jasper shot 15 threes and made all of them! The score was 130-130! Jasper and his team made a tremendous comeback!
There were 5 seconds left in the game, and Jasper had the ball. 5, 4, 3, 2, Jasper shot a three. The whole stadium became silent. 1, it swished in right when the buzzer sounded! The final score was… 133-130 and Jasper’s team were the champs!!
Jasper yelled, “YEAHH!” Everyone got a trophy. As they celebrated, confetti fell from the stadium’s ceiling! When the confetti stopped dropping, they announced the Finals MVP award to… Jasper!!
Everyone was so proud of him, especially the coach.
“Good job,” the coach said. “You really proved that you are really good at basketball, and better than your other teammates. Next time, for the first game in the next season, I’ll put you in the starting lineup.”
When Jasper got home, his mom and dad were very proud and happy for Jasper. They started hugging him and crying happy tears.
“I told you I wouldn’t get hurt,” Jasper said.
“You’re really good at basketball,” his mom said. “I can tell you worked a lot and it was worth it.”
This is the best day of my life, Jasper thought. He couldn’t wait to start another season.
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