– October 29, 2013
The moment had finally arrived, my first official NBA game.
Pregame, I arrived at the Amway Center early, headphones on, locked in, I was listening to Suga Suga don't ask me why but that's what i was doing. My family was there to see my debut.
My agent had sent me a simple text:
"Enjoy it. You only get one first game."
In the locker room, the energy was high. The vets were loose, cracking jokes, but when Coach Jacque Vaughn walked in, the room went silent.
"Alright, fellas, season starts tonight. Let's set the tone early. Franklin, you're coming off the bench, but be ready. You'll get plenty of minutes. Show us why we drafted you."
I nodded. "I got you, Coach."
As we took the court for warm-ups, the first thing I looked at was the audience present, some shouting my name, others my nickname an inexplicable feeling then, I spotted the Pacers lineup—Paul George, Roy Hibbert, David West. One of my teammates, Vucevic, nudged me. "First game. Welcome to the league."
Tip-off came, and I watched from the bench, itching to check in. Midway through the first quarter, Coach called my name. "Lincoln, you're in. Let's go."
I took a deep breath and stepped onto the court. My first possession, I got the ball at the top of the key. I sized up my defender, took a dribble, and pulled up from mid-range—bucket. The crowd roared.
"Nice shot, rook, but this is your last." Paul George tells me as we jogged back down the court.
"I'm going to fry you for my debut." I answer him.
Defensively, I was locked in. I contested shots, fought for rebounds, and even managed to strip Paul George on a drive, leading to a fast break dunk for my teammate.
As the game went on, I settled in. In the second quarter, I caught the ball on the wing, drove past my defender, and finished strong over Roy Hibbert. The arena erupted. On defense, I switched onto Paul George, forcing a tough contested jumper that clanked off the rim.
Coming out of halftime, the game was tight. Coach pulled me aside. "I like what I'm seeing. Keep attacking. Be aggressive."
I nodded. "Yessir."
I make an alley oop pass for Vucevic.
Third quarter, I found my rhythm. I grabbed a defensive board, pushed the pace, and dished a no-look assist for a corner three.
The chemistry was building. Moments later, I fought for an offensive rebound, muscled my way back up, and got the and-one. The bench erupted.
With the game tied heading into the fourth, Coach decided to trust me. Under three minutes left, I ran a pick-and-roll, split the defense, and hit a floater off the glass. On the next possession, I grabbed a key defensive rebound and found my teammate leaking out for an easy dunk.
Final seconds—up by five, the Pacers had one last chance to return. Paul George pulled up from deep, but I closed out hard. The shot bounced off the rim, and I snatched my twelfth rebound, I quickly dribbled towards the opponent's basket and did an East Bay as the buzzer sounded.
Win. 108-101
I finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists in my NBA debut. As I walked off the court, one of the vets, Arron Afflalo patted me on the back. "Damn, rook. You did something dirty look how Paul looks at you over there."
"You'll get used to seeing this kind of face." I tell him.
On the way to our locker room, Paul George come see me "Honestly you're good, but don't think you're the only one like that."
"Nah calm down, we'll see about that" I remain confident in myself even if I liked his game in my old life, it's ancient history here.
"Yeah we'll see, get ready for our next match bro." He answers me smiling.
"You be ready, I have nothing to fear bro." I answer. He left laughing.
Upon entering the locker room my teammates congratulated me on my first game.
After changing I left to join my family, they congratulated me too, I took the opportunity to show them around the city a little.
"Otherwise what do you think of the city?" I ask them.
"I really like this city and you, Dad, Mom?" Cee-Cee said.
"I like it too but I prefer New York, everything we have is there." My mother answers us honestly.
"I agree with your mother" Our father interject.
"I see, I was thinking I could get you to come here."
"No, we prefer to stay and live in New York but that won't stop us from seeing you often Son."
When we kept talking Dom, my agent called me."Pres, Puma have agreed to have an interview with us, I'm not gonna lie to you, they seem pretty supportive, but they want to talk with you in person first."
"Ok, I understand show them my schedule and let them know about my availability to know when it will suit them."
"Go ahead, I'll organize it all, I'll keep you informed." He tells me, we hang up.
"What was that call for, brother?" Cee-Cee asks me curious.
"Contract discussions for a shoe brand." I tell her.
my father "well, it's all moving along quickly."
"Too bad I thought it was your girlfriend who called you" My mother said with a disappointed look.
"Stop, stop, stop, I haven't thought about that yet mom, let's change the subject."
'But she's not wrong, I should start thinking about it.' I say to myself.
The next day...
My family was going back to New York.
Today, this morning with the team, we were just doing recovery, small medical checks with the staff, not much overall, because in the evening we were going to play the Wolves, and we had to be ready as we started with two matches in a row.
The game is still at home so that's okay.