How Sweet the Sound - The Story of David "Amazing" Grace (2K23 MyCareer)

[Agent]

Daaaamn what an accolade to hold

[chosenone58]

Hell of a company to be in

Daaaamn what an accolade to hold

Yeah, I thought it was pretty dope. We just gotta make sure we don't fold in the end like Golden State.

[chosenone58]

In Your Own Time

December 2022

I was drenched in sweat. I had been in the gym for over an hour running drills with Coach Handy and practice wasn’t scheduled to start for another hour.

“D to the damn G! That was a good run. You are making real strides, man.”

“Appreciate it. I’m just trying to make sure the organization and the fans know that they didn’t make a mistake keeping me.”

“With the way you’ve been playing, I think they got the message. You’re having a great month.”

“Rookie of the Month type of month?”

“Without question.”

I grab a bottle of Gatorade and take a seat on the bench. I look out over the practice facility. It’s still a little weird to me that I’m here. Being a second round pick, I know that none of this is guaranteed. But this is all I’ve ever wanted to do since I was a kid. I plan on working every day to maintain it.

“I mean, with Russ coming back in a few weeks and everything, I don’t know where that’s gonna leave me in the rotation.”

“I think you’ll be fine, DG. That’s a problem for Pat Bev and Dennis. You’ve been averaging like 23 a night for the past thirty days. That’s first round pick numbers. And what’s most important is efficiency. It’s not taking you twenty plus shot attempts to get these numbers.”

“No wasted possessions.”

He nodded his head.

I took a deep breath and released it.

“What’s on your mind?”

“You think I’ll ever be as big as the G.O.A.T.’s? Jordan, Kobe, Bron?

“I’ll tell you one thing that set those guys apart from everybody else. Especially, Bron and Kobe.”

“What’s that?”

“They only wanted to be the best version of themselves every day. Don’t try to compare yourself to the guys that came before. Just be better than you were yesterday and the day before and the day before that. Just keep making progress, you’ll get there. You can be a G.O.A.T. in your own time.”

I thought about what he said. Before I could answer I heard the door open and LeBron and AD walked in.

“Oh, shit. Rook getting in work early. Nice.”

“Well, I don’t exactly have the space needed to work out in the privacy of my own home, Bron. I gotta get the work in where I can.”

“Respect. As long as you getting the work in, young fella. Don’t try to outwork me now.” He laughed. “I’ve seen a lot of rookies come and go. I wish more of these young guys had your work ethic.”

He grabbed a basketball off the rack and began going through some game situation shots.

I picked my ball up and went to the other end of the court to work on my free throws. Better than I was yesterday.

#######################

Present Day


“Before we get off the plane, fellas, I have an announcement to make.”

Everybody looked around and waited to hear what Coach Ham had to say. We had just gotten back from New Orleans, where we picked up a nice win over the Pelicans. The season was rolling right along and we had just picked up our 50th win. Apparently, the fastest team to ever do it. So, that was major. In light of all of that, Coach decided to let us stay in New Orleans overnight. I had only been once before. We had gone to Baton Rouge with Andre to help him get moved into his dorm at Southern and Dominique’s dad suggested we go since it was only about an hour away.

It was cool. We did a lot of walking around. We couldn’t get into too much, considering that the only people over 21 were their parents. But the city looked completely different at night. Seeing that I’m only 20 years old, I couldn’t go into the casino, but everything else was fair game for the most part. We actually ended up at a nightclub called Republic. One of the Pelicans players was hosting an after party, so it was a pretty chill vibe. AD came by for maybe half an hour, but that was it. We didn’t see Bron at all. So, after breakfast this morning, we jumped on a flight to head back to Los Angeles.

“We know the scoring record is less than 200 points away, Coach.” AD said from his seat causing everybody to laugh. It was starting to become a running joke because the media seemed more hyped about it than LeBron was.

“That’s not it. The All-Star votes are in and it looks like although LeBron won’t be captain this year he will be a starter, making this his nineteenth appearance.”

Everybody clapped and gave their congratulations. Coach held up his hand to quiet us down.

“AD has also been voted a starter this year.” Applause and congratulations again. Just then my phone buzzed. I reached for it, but Coach Ham quieted us again.

“We have one more.” We all looked around the plane trying to figure out who else was voted in. Russ?

“David Grace is going to his first All-Star game!”

The plane erupted in congratulations and applause even louder than when LeBron and AD were announced.

“Coach, quit playing with me.”

“Come on now, Rook.” LeBron said. “You’ve been balling your ass off. And when Shaq gave you that endorsement last month, fan votes started going up. You were Top 5 last I checked. Not to mention the hell you’ve been giving these teams, the coaches had to vote you in.”

“And fifty wins don’t hurt either.” Coach Handy spoke up.

“All eyes are on us. All of us. And that means you too. You’re pulling your own weight out there. Congrats, All-Star!” LeBron said as the plane erupted in cheers and applause again. Someone played “All Star” by Smash Mouth on their phone.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and there was a text from Dom. There was a picture of a billboard with me, LeBron and AD announcing our All-Star selection. Under the picture she sent a message.

Lawyer Bae Today at 12:54 PM
Your time is right now, babe! My man is an NBA All-Star! You are AMAZING David Grace!

I smiled at that. David Grace. NBA All-Star. Then she sent another text that included a picture that was for my eyes only.

Lawyer Bae Today at 12:57 PM
You need to come straight home and get this all-star treatment.

I hope there isn’t a lot of traffic on the 405 his afternoon.

[chosenone58]

[Agent]

Another impressive accolade heading to the allstar game as a rookie. Keep it rolling

[The JZA]

From 2nd round, to All-Star, to "lawyered up"

[chosenone58]

Another impressive accolade heading to the allstar game as a rookie. Keep it rolling

Grace and Paolo in the all-star game this year.

From 2nd round, to All-Star, to "lawyered up"

Our guy is winning on all fronts right now

[chosenone58]

And then the inevitable happens....

[chosenone58]

[Agent]

2k giving you the full lakers experience