Rebound: A 2nd Chance

Jason saw through the bottom of the door that the lights were on inside. Jason raised his hand and knocked on the door to Kawhi's office.

After a short moment he could hear some things being moved around and papers being shuffled before getting a response "Come in."

Kawhi looked up from the papers that he was reading "I had a feeling it would be you. You didn't even give it a second for the invite to get cold did you?"

Jason flatly answered "You said that I could talk to you whenever I had a question. Last I checked right now counts as whenever."

Kawhi smirked a bit "You're right. But most people would be at least a little hesitant on using an offer like that so freely."

Jason just looked at Kawhi "Well I guess that means that I'm not like most people. Is it okay if I take a seat?"

Kawhi pointed to the chair "Go ahead. You already invited yourself over might as well make yourself comfortable."

After Jason pulled out the chair and sat down Kawhi continued "So what can I help you with? I'm assuming you came here because you needed something?"

Jason nodded his head "Yeah, actually I had some questions that I was hoping you could help me out with."

Kawhi opened up the drawer to his desk and began putting the rest of the papers away. After it was all cleared up Kawhi looked at Jason "I am all ears."

Jason's first question was related to the NBA Finals where Kawhi guarded LeBron. Jason asked how Kawhi positioned himself during LeBron's drives to the basket. As well as how he managed to deal with his superhuman strength and physicality.

Kawhi was impressed by Jason's question. He began to explain the different angles he took on defense and how he tried his best to stick with LeBron through his power and funnel him toward Tim Duncan.

Time passed by as Jason and Kawhi continued their one on one basketball tutoring session. Jason asked a multitude of questions ranging from read and react situations on defense to late game clock management.

The more questions Jason asked the more Kawhi was impressed. All of the questions that Jason asked showed how advanced his understanding of the game was already for his age.

Kawhi didn't hold anything back as he continued to answer all of Jason's questions. He shared the things that he learned from personal experience as well as the things that he learned from other vets during his time in the league. 

Time passed by without them knowing. Their exchange of answers and questions was so engaging that neither side felt the hours pass by.

It wasn't until Kawhi glanced at the clock that they realized the time. Kawhi looked at Jason "Looks like it's getting late.

You better call it a night if you want to wake up on time in the morning. Although I doubt that you'll be able to participate in the training considering the condition your arms and shoulders are in."

Jason stretched his arms out and yawned "I think you're right. I better get some shut eye soon. But I wouldn't be so quick to write me off.

You never know. I might pull a miracle out of nowhere and be fully healed and ready for tomorrow's training. I might not be athletic but I have a pretty tough body."

Kawhi let out a small chuckle "Why don't we make a small bet out of it? If you can actually take part in the training tomorrow I'll get you a signed jersey from any player you want."

Jason stood up from his chair in a hurry as he looked at Kawhi with an excited look "Are you serious?! Can it be a retired player?"

Kawhi nodded his head "I am dead serious. It can be a retired player, a current player, or even a future player. If there are any prospects that you want a signed jersey from just let me know. That is if you win the bet."

Jason smiled as he nodded his head "Alright! But wait, if it's a bet then that means that I have to put something up if you win. What do you want?"

Kawhi went silent as he thought about it for a moment "If I win how about this. In the future if you manage to get into the league I want you to show up to my camps as one of my trainers for at least the duration of your rookie contract. How does that sound?"

Jason was surprised by Kawhi's proposal. There wasn't any downside to the bet. Jason wouldn't lose anything even if he lost the bet. 

After taking a few seconds to think it through Jason smiled as he accepted the bet "Sure, I'm down for a friendly bet. Thanks for letting me bug you for a couple of hours Kawhi."

Kawhi stood up from his chair and patted Jason on the shoulder "No problem kid. I told you I got big hopes for you. I think you got what it takes to go far. Just make sure you stick with the grind."

Jason left Kawhi's office with a smile on his face. The amount of knowledge that he gained from those few hours of guidance from Kawhi were equivalent to a few years of playing.

'Tonight was like finding a treasure trove. I learned so much from Kawhi in those few hours. But it's starting to get late. I should call it a night.'

But as Jason was making his way to the designated sleeping area he passed by the gym and heard the squeaking of sneakers and the pounding of a basketball on hardwood.

After hearing the sounds of a game take place Jason was tempted to take a peek. After looking into the gym Jason found the guys from the 16 and up group running fives.

'It's not actually that late. A quick game shouldn't be too much.' Jason walked into the gym and joined in on the scrimmage.

- - -

In the morning Jason woke up to a siren blaring as a trainer walked into the students sleeping area with a megaphone.

Jason yawned as he began to stretch. Despite the grueling workout and the drills that Jason went through yesterday his body felt like it was in tip top shape.

'Thank you recovery boost function. This might be the best perk of the system. I get to push my body as hard as I want and my body won't even feel it the next day.

In my past life I worked my body as hard as I could but there were still times when I had to take it easy and give it time to recover. But now I don't need to worry about wasting any time.'

The trainers had all the kids running. They didn't tell them how long they would run or how fast they had to go.

The kids all came up with their own rules as some of them ran hard and some of them just went into a light jog.

As the run hit its first hour some of the kids that had been running hard began to slow down. After the second hour even the kids that had been running were now jogging and some of the kids had even dropped out.

It became a test of will as the nagging fatigue combined with the stress of not knowing how much longer the run would be began to overcome the kids.

Jason felt confident in the beginning because of all the conditioning he had been doing and all the minutes he had been playing in the last few games of the season.

But even he was struggling as the run hit the third hour. Jason had sweat pouring down his face as he looked up at the sun while it was beginning to rise.

After what seemed like forever Kawhi and the rest of the trainers showed up as Nav, Jason, Ricky, and a few others were the only ones left in the run.

The rest of the training camp after the run was pretty much a continuation of yesterday. The groups went over all the drills and workouts that they had done the day prior.

But Jason didn't take part in the group training. He took advantage of all the time he had to pick at Kawhi's brain.

Jason spent every available second asking Kawhi for advice on how to improve his game as well as for more effective training.

- - -

The sun was setting as all the kids were getting picked up by their rides. Jason made sure to add Justice as a friend as well as Nav.

Kawhi watched on as Jason got into his mom's car. As they drove off Kawhi turned to one of the trainers with a smile on his face.

"Make a note for me. I'm going to have to make some calls and ask for a signed jersey Huh heh HAEHH heh."'

Jason also had a smile on his face as he got into his mom's car but it was for a different reason.

[Mission: Friendships. Develop a close friendship with Kawhi Leonard and earn his respect. Reward: Earn a Kawhi Leonard exclusive badge.]