The Adventures of LuKai, Game 4, Mavs at Timberwolves

"I'm not saying it was a complete failure, but Pochahontus should have chosen Kocoum," Coach Kidd said. "Disney was already changing the facts. There's no reason they couldn't have changed that part too." He paused and the team shook their heads in agreement. Coach Kidd was so wise and not one player was ungrateful for the knowledge he shared with them on and off the court. "Ok fam, we have a win to celebrate. Let's get out of this cold, gross land, and go home and give Houston a big scare for Halloween."

The locker room cleared out quickly and they headed for the plane. No one wanted to stay in that cold, gross land longer than they had to - even if it was home to players like Napheesea Collier and Courtney Williams.

Once they boarded the plane, everyone visibly relaxed. Once they took off, they started basking in the afterglow of the game.

"Luka that three was something else man!" said Quentin Grimes, who was new to the roster, and even though he was aware of Luka's skillset, it definitely hit different to play alongside him.

With this, Luka stood up and called everyone's attention. Quentin was hoping he hadn't said something wrong.

"Everybody, I want to say something," Luka said, who usually only raised his voice at refs and fans of opposing teams, continued, "Thank you for the love. That logo shot was just what they needed to learn their lesson."

"Preach!" Gaff interrupted, inspiring cheers from others.

"But wait, I am not finished." Silence fell over the plane. Luka definitely commanded the room whenever he wanted to. Concern fell over everyone's face. It was rare that he made speeches, that was Kai's lane. What was this about? Finally, Luka went on, "That shot did not win the game. We won because of our defense. Because our bench is deep. Because of my best friend, Kyrie Irving. Kai put 35 points on the board for us. And PJ had 17. This is how we are gonna win the trophy. Not because I did something cool to piss off the wolves fans and stupid refs."

"Ky-rie! Ky-rie! Ky-rie!" cheered the team. It was one thing for them to be proud of themselves, but it was another thing when their superstar gave them special shoutouts. Luka was becoming a better leader everyday.

As strong a player and personality as Kyrie was, he got shy when it came to this kind of attention. But more than shy, in this moment, he felt pride. He knew Luka, despite his stardom, truly was a team player, and had been encouraging him to show his leadership skills in this way. Kai had the foresight to know that this would be the secret to their success. Individually, their roster was a slay, but it wouldn't mean anything unless they could work together to make all of their individual skills work together. Winning meant playing like a team, not a group of individuals, and playing like a team took communication.

Kai quietly wondered how all of these puzzle pieces were going to fit into the shape of the iconic nba finals trophy. Just when he was getting a little too deep in thought, fellow Aussie born teammate, Dante Exum, walked up.

"Luka's on to it, mate. You better stop showing off like that if you don't like all that attention, eh?" Exum said jokingly. Kai immediately lightened up. Jaden Hardy, one of Kyrie's favorites, joined them.

"Yo Kai, you were on some legendary shit tonight. You gotta teach me the ways, sensei." Hardy laughed.

"Not until you get a new stylist like Coach told you to." Kyrie joked, which made Exum nearly do a spit take of his espresso. Exum always looked slick. It came naturally to him. He put the "business" in "standing on business" every night in the walk up pics.

"I really thought that look was a vibe!" Hardy cried out, not mad at being made the butt of the joke.

"Naur..." said Exum, which produced further laughter.

Spirits were high and everything seemed well in the world. Kryie compartmentalized his curiosities for the team's future in favor of joining in the fun.

As the plane began its descent, Derek made his way over to Kyrie, Luka, and Klay. Klay had passed out in the corner, but Derek's dads were still awake. Luka put down his nintendo switch.

"What's going on DLive?" he said.

"Yo dads, I don't want to be weird but...something's been bothering me." Derek admitted quietly so his teammates wouldn't hear. He certainly had their attention.

"It's just that...we're headed home to play the rockets on Halloween and I'm having my first big party afterwards...but I can't help but think - what if we lose? We're still messing with the lineup. And if we lose to the armpit of our great state right before my party...not even a Pitbull appearance will cheer us up. I'm thinking maybe I should cancel." said Derek.

"No!" cried Luka, drawing the attention of the entire plane.

"Man, it's just a nintendo game!" Kyrie improvised, steering everyone's attention back to whatever it is basketball players do on plane rides.

"What Luka's trying to say is, don't create the monster you fear. If you worry about losing, you're bound to lose. Stay in the moment. We got you." Kyrie said gently.

"Exactly what Kai said," added Luka nervously.

Kyrie changed the subject, "Yo, coach was on one today with that Pocahontas theory. I have to say I agree." The three of them went down Disney rabbit hole long enough for Derek to forget his troubles and balance to be restored.

Now they just had to defeat the Rockets so DLive's party would be all he hoped it could be. It seemed doable...but this was basketball. Anything could happen. Anything. Which was a reality scarier than Halloween.