Chapter 29
Eighty-two regular season games, the NBA playoffs where I vacillated between confident to uncertain and back again, and now the fifth and last game of the NBA Finals.
We had home-court advantage which could be a blessing and a curse.
If we won, we got to celebrate with the fans who’d never given up on this team and supported the Ramblers through the decade long drought.
But if we lost, the silence would be deafening.
The disappointment would be great and my place on this team would be scrutinized.
It wasn’t enough that I’d brought us all the way to the end, this wasn’t a recreational league.
This was the NBA and almost didn’t count.
The only thing that mattered was winning.
And everyone from Ramblers’ owner Sariah Thornton to the ten-year-old kid with my jersey on in the nosebleed section was hoping we secured a championship.
Which was totally understandable, real life was hard.
I knew that firsthand. You just lost your job, your kid is being bullied at school, your mother-in-law hates your guts, or you have to decide between paying the light bill or getting your daughter a prom dress.
But sports brought people together no matter the circumstance.
It was an escape from the harsh realities of life.
I took my part in that very seriously. The Ramblers were the underdogs and fans were rooting for us to prove everybody wrong. If the Ramblers could come out on top, then maybe they could ask for that raise, or tell the nosy neighbor to mind their fucking business.
In the locker room, you could hear a pin drop as Coach Justus gave us one last rallying speech.
“You aren’t in this room by accident. This is years of planning, trusting the process and creating one of the best NBA teams in history.
We’ve fought hard to get here. We’ve suffered major losses and devastating injuries.
Collectively we’ve cried real tears and experienced moments of pure elation.
“We’re a family. We may not always like one another …
shit, look at Pratt and Mosley at the start of the season.
” The team, me included, chuckled. “But at the end of the day we are a unit. We succeed and fail together. And this year we’ve been able to come out on top and I’m asking you to do it one last time.
“People have doubted us from the beginning and honestly, we gave them a reason to. Even now after all this winning they’re still calling us the underdogs.
And that’s fine, they can underestimate us.
They can say we’ve only won because other teams didn’t show up to play.
But after tonight, they’ll have to put some respect on our name because we will be NBA champions. ”
A rumble of feet stomping and hand clapping turned into a roar as we cosigned Coach’s words. Standing, we formed a huddle and Deion shouted, “Ramblers!”
“Nation!” the rest of us said in unison.”
“Ramblers!”
“Nation!”
“Ramble on, Ramblers, ramble on!” The entire room yelled together.
The arena was packed and if I wasn’t nervous before, I was definitely feeling the nerves now.
After forty-eight minutes of game play my first season as a Rambler would come to an end.
It was up to me whether it would end with a bang or a whimper.
The lights dimmed and the Ramblers’ starting lineup was announced.
When the lights came up, I scanned the crowd in search of Danessa.
I located her gleaming face and threw up a half heart matching her bright smile.
She returned the gesture, completing the heart and I tried my best not to dissolve into mush.
I took a gamble on a new team and a new city.
Vegas wasn’t my first choice, but it turned out to be life changing because it brought Danessa back to me.
When I say she was the love of my life it wasn’t hyperbole.
I’d never loved a woman like I loved her.
Trust me, I tried but something wouldn’t allow me to let go of the ideal of her.
Maybe because I knew our ending was abrupt and I felt like we had unfinished business.
That unfinished business was loving one another deeply with intention.
I was made to fill her cup. We all had a journey in life and mine was to play basketball and love Danessa Irwin.
From the jump ball my team was locked in.
We’d worked hard for this moment, and the win was so close we could taste it.
Our focused determination had us communicating telepathically so Deion was posted up in three-point range when I blindly passed him the ball.
And Colin, who for much of the season had been my rival, could anticipate my next move and was waiting under the basket for an easy layup.
As we made our way back up court, we bumped elbows in silent solidarity.
Don’t get me wrong, Colin was still an asshole, but he was a great ballplayer.
Sometimes during a game everything goes right.
You get several fast breaks with effortless baskets.
The referees call almost every foul in your favor.
After a shot from three-point territory, the ball circles the rim before sinking into the basket.
You couldn’t tell me God wasn’t a Las Vegas Ramblers fan because on this night everything appeared to align.
I’d love to tell you it was a nail-biter, that would make for a better story but actually going into the fourth, I felt really good.
All we had to do was continue our full-court press.
When Deion passed on the three tossing the ball to me, I was able to secure two points and a foul.
It seemed like the crowd finally let go of the collective breath they were holding and allowed themselves to celebrate the final seconds of the game.
When the buzzer blared, I screamed at the top of my lungs.
Deion, Colin and Dante made their way to me and we had a mini celebration right there in center court.
The fans chanted Ramblers, Ramblers, Ramblers.
Some moments are hard to explain like a first kiss, or that feeling on the first day of school.
And this was no different. A wave of emotions rushed through me.
I wanted to yell, cry, and retreat for silent reflection all at the same time.
Any athlete will tell you winning the ultimate prize in your respective sport is the end goal.
None of them pursue a sport to be mediocre.
Gold medals, rings, and trophies are always the motivation.
Everything that followed was a blur. There was courtside revelry, NBA Championship hats that had been mocked up and purchased months ago in anticipation of this outcome.
Reporters formed a gaggle around Coach Justus and the team looking to get a sound bite.
One of the courtside reporters pulled me aside and peppered me with questions.
“Aldridge, congratulations. This year you’ve proven that the Ramblers’ gamble on you paid off.”
“Well, I like to think of myself as a sure thing. And I trust the abilities of my teammates.”
“The team worked hard to secure this win. Looking back, it’s as if this was destined.”
“I believe in the importance of getting the right players in the correct seats. Once we accomplished that it was hard to stop what I like to call inevitable.”
“One thing you don’t lack is confidence. Where does that come from?”
“Hard work and dedication to my craft. I’ve loved basketball since I was a kid and being allowed to play on a professional level is a dream come true.”
“You and Colin Prat seemed to put your differences aside during the playoffs and finals. How was it playing alongside him?”
“I’m a fan. Naturally there would be a bumpy transition, but we both had the same objective and that was to win, and we came out here and proved that tonight.”
“What does Aldridge Mosley do next?”
“Tonight, I’ll celebrate with my girl, who was my support system for much of this season. I was already a winner coming into this game because I had her in my corner.”
“Do you want to give her a shout-out now?”
“No because you people are nosy and what she and I have going on is for us. This isn’t no Hollywood PR stuff.”
“Congratulations again. Enjoy the celebration, you deserve it.”
The excitement transitioned to the locker room with bottles of champagne and other manners of carrying on.
I never understood the tradition of dousing the coach in liquids like Gatorade or champagne as a form of celebration.
It’s a waste and everything gets sticky.
But when in Rome you do Roman shit. The kinetic energy was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
When Danessa entered the room, she made a beeline toward me. Wrapping her arms around me, she gave me the biggest hug. I leaned into her and lifted her off her feet, planting a soft kiss to her lips.
“Oh my God, baby, congratulations, you deserve this.” Danessa whispered affirming words into my ear. “You were so amazing out there. I knew it. I sensed today was going to be a special day.”
“You knew we were going to win huh?”
“Never doubted you for a moment.”
“Is this the same woman who right before I left held my hands and told me and I quote, ‘Just try your best, that’s all anyone can ask.’ And no matter the outcome, you were proud of me regardless.”
“I didn’t say that because I didn’t believe. I said it to take some of the pressure off of you.”
“And I love you for it but you can admit you were split fifty-fifty.”
“Maybe just a little bit but once you ran out on that court, I could tell you were locked in. You had that same determined demeanor the afternoon of your NCAA championship.”
I planted several pecks to her lips. “I’m just glad you’re here to share it with me.”
Danessa caressed my cheek. “There is no place on this earth I’d rather be than right here with you, my MVP.”
Winning this championship with Danessa by my side made this moment all the more rewarding.
Danessa knew what I had to sacrifice to get here.
She would hang out in the stands typing papers while I practiced my free throws at the campus training facility.
At the library while she was studying her notes, I was studying my playbook.
And at night we’d dream about the life we’d have, me a celebrated NBA player and her a junior lawyer on the thirty under thirty list.
Winning a championship was always an inevitability but winning Danessa’s heart was far less certain. My life wasn’t perfect, but having her by my side made it easier. Rapping two empty champagne bottles together, I grabbed the attention of the players and their family members who were gathered.
“I just want to take a minute to acknowledge that most of you hated me on my first day. And I don’t blame you, I can be a little prickly.
But with all sincerity, I am so proud of this team and the opportunity to play alongside each and every one of you.
We are forever connected because this is a moment we will remember for a lifetime. Thank you for trusting me.”
Teammates patted my back while others cheered or nodded in agreement.
Colin Pratt cleared his throat while raising the half-empty bottle he was holding. “To the newbie.”
The locker room erupted with stomping of feet and laughter.
I came to Vegas with nothing and over time I built relationships with these men.
When my family let me down this crew had my back.
Deion was a no-nonsense mentor who told me what I needed to hear not what I wanted to hear.
Dante was my polar opposite, but he taught me not to take myself too seriously.
And Colin Pratt taught me basketball was universal and although we might not see eye to eye off the court, he’d always have my back on the hardwood.
“Ramblers Nation, baby!” Deion shouted.