Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Chapter 299 - One Hell Of A Night

The entire stadium was packed as fans wearing Washington Wizard jerseys flooded the different rows and seats.

There were a few Bulls' fans sprinkled throughout the stadium as they brandished their jerseys and other fan gear such as snapbacks and posters.

At the announcers booth sat three people who would be acting as the commentators for the game. One of the men was wearing a black suit and some thick framed glasses.

He looked at the camera and began to smile "Hello ladies and gentlemen. My name is Logan Banks and I am incredibly honored to be here tonight.

As we start the playoffs tonight we have two Wizard legends who will be joining me for tonight's game.

First is the incredible player who in his time carried the franchise to some of their best years. The man himself, John Wall."

Dressed in a dark gray suit John Wall smiled at Logan and then at the camera "Thanks for having me Logan.

I gotta say, it's pretty special being able to commentate for the Wizards as they take that step. For years now they've been a scrappy playoff team that had a lot of heart.

But this year things finally seemed to click. You got everyone falling in line because Jalen Carter is finally asserting himself the way that he's supposed to.

This guy has the whole package. He can kill you from three, he got elite speed with and without the ball, and he can post you up.

We been saying it for years, that he needs to use that big body of his to overpower smaller defenders, but it seems like this year he started to listen."

Logan nodded his head as he smiled "You make some strong points John. But before we keep talking about the Wizards and the huge step that they have taken this year I would like to introduce the other person that will be joining us tonight.

Here with me is a man who might be regarded more as a legend for what he did as a member of the big three Celtics but he has also made some contributions during his time as a Wizard.

The man who said one of the most iconic sentences in NBA history, Mr. "I called game" Paul Pierce aka The Truth."

Paul Pierce smiled at the camera as he waved "Haha thanks for bringing up one of the highlights of the later stage of my career Logan.

Tonight should be fun, well, for the Wizards at least. This run during the playoffs is their chance to really cement themselves as legitimate contenders.

Even if they just fall short in the Finals that would be enough in my eyes. For a team that has just been a middle of the pack playoff team to jump to being the first seed in the East, it's something special man.

And I have to agree with Wall. The reason behind why the finally made the jump is because Jalen Carter is showing what he's really made of.

He's finally embraced the fact that he is THE GUY for this team and his aggressiveness is reflecting that.

Did you all know that among the players who have the best point production from the post that Carter is ranked sixth?!

That's incredible man. We talkin bout a 6'4 (1.93m) Point Guard dominating and asserting his will in the paint."

Logan added "Yeah, too bad that the Bulls are on the opposite end tonight. I almost feel sorry for Reggie.

He was a talented player who showed so much potential during his rookie season. But every year after was filled with injuries.

And despite his amazing showing in the last few weeks of the regular season his history of injuries seems to have affected his worth in the market.

Which is evident in the fact that the Bulls have yet to offer him an extension despite the fact that he will be a restricted free agent this offseason after his rookie contract expires."

The three of them continued to talk and fill up empty time as everyone got ready for the game. In the visitors locker room Reggie was sitting in his chair with his headphones on.

He had a dark brown complexion and looked to be around 6'6 (1.98m) with a tattoo of a women on his right arm. His black hair was cut short all around.

Even though he was trying his best to clear his head all he could think about was the talk that he had with his agent a few weeks ago.

- - -

Reggie was sitting on his couch and across from the coffee table sat his agent. He ran his hand across his head as he looked at his agent.

"So how did it go Mark? Did they agree to the terms for my extension?" Mark sighed before shaking his head.

"Bad news is that management said no to our terms. Good news is that they offered us a counter offer, although you probably won't like it."

Reggie thought for a moment "What are their terms?" Once again Mark sighed "They were okay with the years but they thought that our asking price was too high.

They want a twelve million dollar discount." Hearing his agent say that Reggie leaned back into his couch and rubbed his face.

After using a few seconds to recompose himself he took a deep breathe and sat back up "Twelve million is pretty big but spread across four years it ain't that ba-"

Mark shook his head "They don't want to take twelve million off of the total contract. They want to take out twelve million a year."

All of the energy seemed to have left his body all at once after hearing what Mark had to say. For a few minutes Reggie just sat there with his head down.

Just as Mark was beginning to get worried Reggie opened his mouth "It's because of my injury history right?"

Mark didn't say anything but he nodded his head. Reggie looked up at his ceiling "The only reason why I got hurt last season was because they begged me to help with their playoff push.

I came back early despite what my doctors told me because I thought that I was doing the right thing for the team.

And now.... and now they want to do this to me? Take off twelve million a year? They want to pay me the same salary as a role player?"

Once again silence began to fill the room as the two of them sat there wordlessly. A few seconds later and Reggie began to laugh manically.

He stood up and reached down for the glass cup that was on his coffee table. He gulped it's content before smashing it down on his hardwood floor.

As the alcohol burned him on its way down a smile flashed across his face "If that's how they want to play then let's do it.

We won't take an extension offer. I'll go out there and play the last few games and bet on myself. If I can carry the team to the playoffs and show out my value will skyrocket.

If I fail then I guess that the team was right and that I don't deserve to be paid like a star. But I won't let anyone else be in control. I'll gamble on myself!"

- - -

Back in the stadium all of the fans were screaming their hearts out. Not because they were happy, they were trying to will their team to victory.

Despite the fact that the Wizards were the number one seed this year while the Bulls had just barely managed to squeak into the 8th spot the score did nothing to reflect that at the moment.

With just eleven seconds left on the clock the Wizards were up by just one point as the Bulls held the ball for what seemed to be the last possession of the game.

After receiving the ball from a sidelines inbound pass Reggie began to make his way up the court 'I only have a few seconds, time to make it count!'

The defender that was assigned to him began to guard him as soon as he crossed half court. But Reggie didn't seem to mind his presence at all.

Without even calling for a screen he exploded to the right as he began his drive. His first step was so quick that his defender was two steps behind by the time that he was able to react.

Seeing this the opposing team's defense began to collapse as they got ready to contain Reggie. But instead of looking for the open teammate to pass to Reggie kept his eyes on the basket.

His speed was so overwhelming that he managed to approach the paint before the other defenders could collapse in on him.

But the Wizard's Center was still there as he got ready to contest any shot that Reggie would put up.

As he got close to the paint Reggie picked up his dribble and planted both of his feet as he launched himself off of the ground.

Seeing Reggie go airborne the Center also jumped into the air as he aimed his sights for the ball that was in Reggie's hand.

But as the two of them made contact in the air Reggie held the ball in his right hand while the Center had both of his hands up.

Although there was significant contact the referees swallowed their whistles as the playoffs operated differently than the regular season.

As they began to fall back down the Center got worried as he saw that Reggie still had the ball in his hand.

Feeling that it was now the right time Reggie extended his right arm up and over his head. With the softest touch that he had ever seen he saw Reggie toss the ball toward the basket with a baby hook shot.

Just as the ball left his hand Reggie heard the clock buzz indicating the end of regulation. All eyes were on the ball as it floated through the air.

- - -

Back in Riverside. Despite the time difference Coach Swendel had stayed up late just to watch the Wizards vs Bulls game.

Seeing as how tonight was a special occasion he had decided to splurge a little as he treated himself to some chicken from Wingstop. 

He had been snacking on some Lemon Pepper wings in nothing but his cupid heart white boxers as he watched the game in his living room.

But as things reached the critical point Coach Swendel found himself unable to eat as he nervously watched the game.

After seeing the ball sink through the net Coach Swendel dropped his phone, that he was watching the game on, as he stared straight up into his ceiling.

He began to mumble to himself "T-they did it... The B-Bulls actually won..... He was right..... We won... We won!"

A second later and he heard his phone ring while it was on the floor. After he picked it up he saw that he got a notification from the website that he used to place his bet.

After seeing the new influx of funds Coach Swendel let out a small yelp before fainting. As he laid there on the floor of his empty living room the smell of Wingstop began to spread as he smiled crazily in his sleep.