There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension

Second Quarter begins by discussing belief, and how it implies a divine entity that fundamentally cares how a person lives their small life. He ties this observation to his eviction from his first solo apartment in 2007. He knew it was a bad time because the only parts he could remember were LeBron’s wins and losses in that period and albums from his favorite musicians coming out. He recalls that his childhood was also bereft of many specific memories. “What good is a witness in a country obsessed with forgetting?” (116) asks Abdurraqib. He points out that a lack of memory might be a survival tactic in a world that seemed to dislike his existence. However, LeBron’s fans started to use the phrase “we are all witnesses” (116) to bring attention and glory to his wins. It felt huge and important, this miraculous basketball talent, unfolding in front of everybody. In this case, their witnessing of LeBron united them.

When he was facing eviction, he began to pray five times a day, as he had been taught by his father. When he was a child, he often only pretended to pray. After being caught, his father told him it was all right not to pray, “but don’t turn back toward Allah when you need something” (118).