“We need to play with teams,” said Jeremy Lin as he shot a mid-range jumper.
“Dude, I hate teams,” said Kobe Bryant as he rebounded the ball after Jeremy’s miss.
“That’s only because you have to pass the ball.” said Jeremy, laughing. “Besides,” he added, “I’m gettin’ tired of whooping you 1 on 1.” They both broke out laughing and continued to practice at the team gym.

It was the offseason, so they decided to call a few players from a couple different teams in the NBA.
The next day, Jeremy and Kobe met at the local basketball park, along with some other NBA players. Jeremy chose Damian Lillard and Pau Gasol. Kobe chose Rajon Rondo and Blake Griffin.
“Hope you’re ready to get stomped.” Jeremy Lin told Kobe.
“I’m gonna let my game speak for me.” replied Kobe.
And they were ready to play. Jeremy and Kobe had been on social media for hours, hyping people up for the game. When game time was there, people flooded the park to watch the 3 on 3 matchup, which was going to be played until one team got 21 points.

Kobe and his team got the ball first. Kobe ran into the paint right off the bat, and got blocked by Pau Gasol on the way up. Damian Lillard got the ball and ran up the court. He passed to Jeremy Lin, who laid the ball into the basket. 2 points. Blake Griffin passed it to Rajon Rondo on the inbound, and Rondo jogged up the court. Rajon was being covered by Jeremy Lin. Rajon feigned a step to his left, spun, and ran to his right. Jeremy stumbled backwards and fell over, and Rondo had a clear lane to the basket. He went up, but he saw Pau Gasol jump up to block him in the corner of his eye. He made a split-second decision and passed it to Kobe, who made an easy mid-range shot. The score was now tied at 2 points.
The whole game was back and forth. No team seemed able to sustain a lead for more than a few minutes.
The game was tied at 17 when the players got a break. They all chugged their Gatorade like no tomorrow. Meanwhile, Jeremy Lin and Kobe Bryant were chatting at the half court line.
“I’m surprised you’re still in this.” Jeremy said to Kobe.
“I’m thinkin’ the same thing about you.” Kobe replied.
“So, I see you actually learned to pass?” said Jeremy with a grin.
“As long as it means whoopin’ you on the blacktop!” Kobe said, laughing.
They bumped fists and went back to their own teams.

It was Jeremy Lin’s teams turn to get the ball. Damian Lillard walked up to the three point line, ready to get the second half started. Kobe Bryant walked up in front of him, equally as anxious to get the second half started.
“Let’s see what’cha got, old man.” said Lillard to Kobe.
“Likewise.” was his reply.
Kobe passed the ball to Damian, and the game was on. Damian kept trying to fake Kobe out, but the thirty eight year old veteran was not biting. Lillard tried to force a shot, and it bounced off the front of the rim. Rajon Rondo got the rebound and ran down the court. Blake Griffin called for the ball, and Rondo passed it to him. Griffin caught the ball and made a beeline straight for the basket. With nobody around, he jumped and slammed the ball down for a ferocious dunk. The score was now 17-19. Kobe Bryant’s team had only one more basket to go. Jeremy Lin called a timeout so he could talk to his team.
“Alright guys,” he started, “We can still do this. We need to play harder than we’ve played this entire game. That means scoring here, and stopping them at the other end. We may only have one shot, so don’t force anything, play smart defence, and we’ll walk outta this as winners. It may be an exhibition game, but a win here is as good as any other. So lets go out and WIN this!” Jeremy and his team exchanged fist bumps and strolled out onto the court.

Pau Gasol passed to Jeremy Lin, who casually ran up the court. He stopped at the three point line and passed to Pau Gasol. Pau caught the ball and started to drive into the paint. He went up and passed the ball mid-shot to Damian Lillard, who shot the ball for an easy three pointer. The score was now 20 to 19. The crowd cheered and applauded. They had been enjoying an amazing game, and it was about to come to a close. Blake passed the ball to Kobe on the inbound, and Kobe made his way up the court. He passed the ball to Blake Griffin, who ran to the basket and attempted a layup. Pau jumped up and fouled Blake to prevent the layup. Blake was going to have to earn those two points at the free-throw line.
Blake went through his normal routine. He bounced the ball a few times, spun it in his hands, and held the ball at his waist, ready to shoot. He inhaled and shot the ball up. The ball hit the side of the rim and bounced in. He let out a sigh of relief. He had tied it up. All he needed to do was make the other free throw and he would win his team the game.
He went through his routine once more, took an even bigger breath than last time, and went to shoot. Ball went up. Everyone was frozen. It was eerily silent. The ball hit the rim, and bounced up. It hit the backboard, hit the rim again, and….rolled out. Blake grimaced as he watched the ball fall to the ground. He managed to tie it, but he failed to win the game.
Pau Gasol passed to Jeremy Lin, and they made their way up the court. Kobe run up and stole the ball, and started running down the court. There was no one around him, and he decided to finish in style. He went up for a 360 dunk, but lost grip of the ball and threw it into the backboard. Blake Griffin grabbed the rebound and went for an easy layup, but Pau Gasol had caught up and blocked the shot. Damian Lillard grabbed the ball and ran up the court. He thought he was home free, until he saw Rajon Rondo in the paint, ready to block his shot. He slowed down to let his teammates get ahead of him. He sprinted down the court. He passed to Jeremy Lin, who drove inside. He faked a shot and passed to Pau Gasol, who was wide open on the other side of the paint. Pau Gasol caught the ball and dunked it before Rajon could react.
Jeremy Lin’s team won the game. Jeremy and his team started to celebrate, along with the fans who were cheering and applauding. Meanwhile, Kobe and his team stood with blank expressions, ready to go home. Blake Griffin kicked himself for not making the game winning free throw. Kobe Bryant kicked himself for blowing the win by trying to be fancy. Rajon Rondo kicked himself for not guarding the fastbreak properly. But all three knew how to handle a loss. Both teams shook hands. When they were done, they all got in their cars, and went home.