40 First Post-Game Interview
*Sound Effects*
**Language**
'Thoughts'
"Dialogue"
{Text}
(Point of View)
| Setting |
[System]
| Location: SBC Center, San Antonio, Texas |
| Date: Tuesday Nov 1, 2005 10:22pm |
(1st Person - Javi)
I found myself seated alone, facing a room full of reporters, and the sensation was truly surreal. Coach Popovich had informed me that I would be giving an interview after the game, and as soon as I finished showering, I eagerly agreed before seeking advice from Manu and Tony.
Their advice consisted of staying composed, keeping my responses short, and maintaining eye contact. While I had received some media training during the offseason, putting it into practice now felt like an entirely different challenge.
I decided to stick to what I had learned and do my best to be genuine and inject some humor.
"So, Javier, how did it feel to make your NBA debut tonight?" inquired one reporter.
"It was incredible, almost beyond words. I'm sure nearly everyone has said this, but I've been dreaming of this day since I was a kid," I replied calmly.
"What was going through your mind as you stepped onto the court for the first time as an NBA player?" asked another reporter.
"I just wanted to follow Coach Pop's advice and not disappoint my family and friends who were watching," I answered with a smile.
"Your coach has praised your work ethic. How do you stay motivated and focused on improving?" queried another reporter.
"He did?" I responded with curiosity before chuckling and adding, "No, I'm able to stay motivated because this is what I love to do, but I also have my family to look after, so I can't afford to lose my focus."
"How do you handle the pressure and expectations that come with being a rookie?" inquired a female reporter.
"Honestly, the pressure doesn't really get to me that much. When I'm on the court, the outside world seems to disappear, and it's just me, the ball, the players, and the coaches," I explained.
"Can you talk about your chemistry with your teammates and how you're building that on the court?"
I laughed before continuing, "The team has been fantastic to me. I genuinely believe I couldn't be in a better environment. All the guys have welcomed me, and the primary way we bond and develop chemistry is off the court—playing pranks, joking around, and such," I said with a smile.
"Can you share some of those pranks?" asked another male reporter.
I chuckled before hesitating and replied, "I can neither confirm nor deny," taking a sip of water while waiting for the next question.
"Last question, Javier. Are you single?" a female reporter inquired.
I nearly choked on my water.
"I'm sorry, what?" I said, bewildered.
The reporter repeated the question, and I glanced to my right to see Coach Pop urging me to respond quickly so we could wrap things up.
I sighed inwardly before answering, "Yes, I'm single" I stated simply with a small awkward smile.
Coach Popovich intervened, taking my arm and stating that we had answered enough questions as he ushered me out.
"Do they always ask that to players?" I asked Coach Popovich.
"Not everyone, but its not uncommon. They use anything that helps them sell," he replied, clearly slightly annoyed.
"No wonder the other players hate interviews," I remarked, to which Coach Popovich nodded.
I returned to the locker room, where my teammates couldn't resist teasing me. Apparently, they had the TV in the locker room tuned to my interview. I was well aware that I was never going to hear the end of this.
"Oh, Javi, please save me," Tony said in a mock female voice.
I couldn't help but burst out laughing. I loved these guys; they never took themselves too seriously and knew how to have a good time.
We quickly gathered our belongings to leave, but a security guard stopped me on my way out, asking for an autograph. I felt honored and gladly signed my signature on my jersey for him. It felt surreal to put my signature on something for the first time, but I knew there would be many more to come in the future.
After departing on the buses, we made our way to the Tower of the Americas, a towering structure with a restaurant at its peak. Despite living in San Antonio, I had no idea there was a restaurant up there.
Throughout the ride, my phone buzzed incessantly with messages from family and friends. My mom and brothers extended their congratulations, praising my performance. Reading their affirmations, I couldn't help but smile.
Similarly, my AAU team friends echoed these sentiments, saying that I deserved the recognition, causing my grin to broaden. I felt grateful for the opportunity, realizing how different things might be otherwise.
Among the flood of messages, one caught my attention—a simple 'Good game' from an unknown number.
{who dis} I replied.
{the mamba} came the response.
I was initially stunned, followed by confusion.
{you the feds?} I joked.
{lol} he replied.
{how'd you get my number?} I asked.
{i got my ways} he said.
I continued texting with Kobe, and I changed his title to 'Bean' in my phone. I asked him shouldn't he be asleep already since he has a game early tomorrow against the Nuggets. He mentioned it was only 8 PM in his time zone. I slapped my forehead, completely forgetting about time zones.
After texting back and forth a bit, he mentioned for me to stop wearing 'those fruity ass shoes' and put on some real shoes. I laughed seeing him say this, I asked our amazing athletic trainer Will Sevening about when we would play against the Lakers. He replied that it would be on the 29th of this month. I thanked him and then told Kobe to be ready because I wanted a rematch. He simply responded with "say less," accepting the challenge. I was curious about how I would fare against him now that I had improved so much, and I looked forward to further enhancing my skills in the coming month.
Before long, we finally arrived at the Tower of the Americas.
We were greeted by the receptionist and the manager, both of whom were all smiles upon seeing the Spurs team. We were then led up an elevator that had a window allowing us to see the skyline of downtown San Antonio as we ascended. I couldn't help but smile, grateful for the opportunity to experience it.
Upon reaching the highest point, we exited the elevator to find the restaurant. The restaurant had a circular structure, and the building itself rotated around the central core where the kitchen was located. The restaurant was completely empty, once again demonstrating the influence of the Spurs and their ability to reserve the entire restaurant for the evening.
We took our seats, and Tony, Manu, and Timmy each began with cocktails. Being only 19, I couldn't partake in alcohol, so I ordered a Coke and perused the menu.
"When there are no prices, that's how you know it's expensive," I joked with the team, earning a laugh from everyone.
I examined the menu and decided on the Filet Mignon. I engaged in conversation with Tony, who sat right next to me. I asked what he was ordering, and he mentioned some seafood dish. Manu had chosen Ribeye, and Timmy had opted for Salmon.
When it was time to order, I went for the Filet Mignon, but Tony failed to correct my pronunciation, leading to a moment of embarrassment.
"Where's the 'y'?" I asked, puzzled.
Tony burst out laughing, saying, "How do you not know English? You were born here," with Manu joining in the laughter.
I smiled and joked back, "I hate English," before adding, "Plus, I know the average person's words, not the fancy ones. How do you say 'Sauvignon'?" I mispronounced it again.
Tony pronounced it correctly, and, once again, it seemed there was a 'y' in it.
"I give up," I sighed, taking a sip of my Coke. I wouldn't find out until later, however, apparently Filet Mignon was a French dish. I nearly chocked Tony when I found out in the future.
After some more conversation, our food arrived, and before we dug in, Coach Popovich had some words to share. He offered words of encouragement and expressed his pride in the team. After his speech, the team returned to their usual antics, with Manu cracking jokes and keeping the atmosphere light.
"Yea yea Pop we get it, I need to eat" Manu stated with a smile.
One of the great things about being part of this team was that there was never a dull moment. Usually, Tony or Manu would have me in stitches with their humor, and I found myself fully participating, letting my own joking personality shine in this vibrant team dynamic.
After the amazing food, we headed back to our hotels, interestingly, despite being at a home game, players were required to stay at hotels nearby the arena. We were staying at the Hyatt Regency which was near the SBC Center just overlooking the Riverwalk which was a main attraction in San Antonio. We each had our own rooms, however they were all close to each other, I reached my suite and went inside, passing by the Pool table in the room and jumping on the bed to go to sleep.
I then turned my attention to the packs I had accumulated:
[1x Gary Payton (Uncommon+)]
[1x Bob Cousy (Uncommon+)]
[1x Oscar Robertson (Uncommon+)]
[1x Isiah Thomas (Uncommon+)]
[1x Jason Kidd (Rare+)]
[1x Reggie Miller (Rare+)]
[1x Yao Ming (Rare+)]
[1x Penny Hardaway (Epic+)]
A/N : Switched it from Epic or Higher to Epic+ as I thought it made more sense and didn't take up as much space.
I was eager to open the packs, but I exercised restraint, thinking it would be better to open the cards with the boost. I was particularly lucky to receive an Epic Penny Hardaway pack, although it took me two attempts to obtain it. The Yao Ming card proved to be a challenge, as I needed to grab at least 12 rebounds in a single game. Fortunately, I managed to play the entire game and secured the final rebound in the last quarter with just a few minutes left. I was hoping to get the Yao Ming in hopes of getting a skill that would help my defense which was lacking currently.
As for the Penny Hardaway card, the mission required me to record a double-double with at least 14 assists against the 1996 Celtics. Thankfully, it wasn't against a stronger team, so completing the challenge was mainly a matter of amassing the required assists.
After checking my packs, I moved on to my quests, which had two exclamation points, indicating something new.
I opened my quests to find:
[Daily Quests] (+) !!!
[Weekly Quests] (+)
[Seasonal Quests] (+)
[Career Quests] (+) NEW!!!
I started with my daily quests.
[Victory against the Heat]
[Reward: 1x Heat Pack (Rare+)]
[Completed]
I clicked on the quest to claim my reward, then expanded the Daily Quest section, eager to see what new challenges awaited.
Next, I turned my attention to the career quests.
[Debut Victory - Win 1st NBA Game]
[Reward: 1x Random Pack (Legendary+)]
[Completed]
[Opening Shot - Score First Points in NBA Career]
[Reward: 1x Scorer's Pack (Epic+)]
[Completed]
[Assist Starter - Get First Assists in NBA Career]
[Reward: 1x Playmaker's Pack (Epic or Higher)]
[Completed]
[Rebound Rookie - Get First Rebound in NBA Career]
[Reward: 1x Boardmaster's Pack (Epic+)]
[Completed]
[Steal Spotlight - Get First Steal in NBA Career]
[Reward: 1x Pickpocketer's Pack (Epic+)]
[Completed]
"Let's Go!" I thought excitedly as I claimed all the packs I had completed. However, one career quest stood out.
[Champion's Quest - Win 1st Ring]
[Reward: 1x Champion Pack (Mythic+)]
[Incomplete]
"Huh?" I was confused.
"Could it be because I wasn't on the roster?" I mumbled to myself.
I wasn't sure why it didn't register when I completed the seasonal quests. The only explanation I could think of was that, since I technically wasn't on the roster, and possibly because I hadn't completed a career quest before, it didn't show up until now.
'Wait....This one mentions a ring, the other one didn't. Maybe that's why' I realized. Though I had technically been on the team when we won, I didn't receive a ring for it.
'Looks like I'm just gonna have to get a ring then,' I thought with a smirk.
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A/N: Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know your thoughts so far. If you like the story, please feel free to support by leaving a review, dropping a comment below or dropping some stones below as well.
