Basketball Game Essay

The scoreboard shows 95-96; the Cleveland Cavaliers are trailing the Los Angeles Lakers by one point. It is the final game of the NBA season and Lebron James is leading Cleveland through their victorious season. One year earlier, the team coach drafted James into Cleveland’s team hoping that this amateur would demonstrate the winning edge to the Cavaliers. The coach anticipated witnessing Lebron playing in a game; all doubts vanished when he realized the true skills of the young man. Now, Lebron’s true challenge is leading his team to defeating their opponents in the most important game of the season. The clock indicates there are only 18 seconds left, enough time to score one more basket. The Cavaliers have one big challenge, racing with time to attain this basket and conclude their victory.

A player from the Cavaliers rebounds, controls the ball, and sprints down the court. He selfishly attempts to dribble through all of the opposing team players without passing the ball to his teammates. He performs an ineffective move and nearly gets the ball snatched out of his hands. As a consequence of his imprudent and unintelligent actions, he is obliged to hold the ball, unable to further dribble. He throws a sloppy pass to a guarded teammate and the opposing team captures the ball in mid-air.

Kobe Bryant, one of the Laker’s star players, possesses the ball and drives down the lane. He maneuvers the ball through two defenders and finds himself open behind three-point circle for the winning shot of the game. Panic overcomes the team, the coaches, and the crowd; all hope seems to be lost. Just as the offender fires the ball towards the Cavalier’s basket, Lebron James bounds into the air and intercepts the ball with a swat of his hand. Another offender rebounds the ball, but before he could react, James seizes the ball and dashes down the court. Sparks of hope begin to fly; a sigh runs through the crowd before they resume watching the game intensely.

13 seconds. As Lebron dribbles the ball, he encounters a defender from the opposing team. To avoid him, he feints to the right, reverses the ball to the left, and chest-passes the ball to his teammate. Lebron’s outlet crossovers a defender and throws it back to James with a one-hand pass behind his back. 9 seconds. Lebron James obtains the ball and recommences to drive it down the lane. He reaches the three-point mark, fakes to the right, brings the ball back behind his back, and throws a sturdy pass to his teammate for a give-n-go. 5 seconds. His teammate pump-fakes the ball and as James feints to the left to distract the defender, he retrieves the ball at the bottom skinny hash mark from a bounce-pass by his teammate. 3 seconds. Lebron avoids Shaqille O’Neal to find himself directly under the basketball hoop. 2 seconds. Still moving, he summons all his strength and leaps in the air, preparing to slam a hook-shot dunk through the net. As he soars through the air, in what seems to be slow motion with a bead of sweat trickling down his cheek, splattering onto the ground like a raindrop, his hand performs a half-circle above his head and the ball rips through the net as he hangs onto the rim. Instantaneously, the buzzer sounds, announcing the end of the game.