Table of Contents

1 Table of ContentsTitle PageTable of ContentsCopyrightWarm-UpChapterJosh BellHow I Got My NicknameAt firstFilthy McNastyJordan BellOn the way to the gameFive Reasons I Have LocksMom tells DadConversationBasketball Rule #1 First QuarterJB and IAt the End of Warm-Ups, My Brother Tries to DunkThe SportscasterJosh s Play-by-Playcross o verThe ShowThe Bet, Part OneOde to My HairThe Bet, Part TwoThe game is tiedIn the locker roomCutca lam i tyMom doesn t like us eating outMissingThe inside of Mom and Dad s bedroom closetpa tel la ten di ni tisSundays After ChurchBasketball Rule #2 GirlsWhile Vondie and JBpul chri tu di nousPracticeWalking HomeMan to ManAfter dinnerAfter we winDad Takes Us to Krispy Kreme and Tells Us His Favorite Story (Again)

2 Basketball Rule #3 Josh s Play-by-PlayThe new girlI Missed Three Free Throws TonightBasketball Rule #4 Having a motherMom shoutshy per ten sionTo fall asleepWhy We Only Ate Salad for ThanksgivingHow Do You Spell Trouble?Bad NewsGym classSecond QuarterConversationConversationBasketbal l Rule #5 ShowoffOut of ControlMom calls me into the kitchen35 18 Too GoodI m on Free Throw Number Twenty-SevenHe probablyi ron icThis Is Alexis May I Please Speak to Jordan?Phone Conversation (I Sub for JB)JB and IBoy walks into a roomAt practiceSecond-PersonThird Wheeltip ping pointThe main reason I can t sleepSurprisedConversationGame Time: 6.

3 00 is my second yearBasketball Rule #6 Josh s Play-by-PlayBeforeThird QuarterAfterSuspensionchur lishThis week, IBasketball Rule #7 The Nosebleed SectionFast BreakStormThe next morningpro fuse lyArticle #1 in the Daily News (December 14)Mostly everyoneFinal JeopardyDear JordanI don t knowNo Pizza and FriesEven VondieUh-ohI run into Dad s roomBehind Closed DoorsThe girl who stole my brotherThings I Learn at DinnerDishesCoach s Talk Before the GameJosh s Play-by-PlayText Messages from Mom, Part OneThe Second HalfTomorrow Is the Last Day of School Before Christmas VacationCoach comes overes trangedSchool s OutThe Phone RingsBasketball Rule #8 When we get to the courtAt Noon, in the Gym.

4 With DadFourth QuarterThe doctor pats Jordan and me on the back and saysmy o car di al in farc tionOkay, DadMom, since you asked, I ll tell you why I m so angryText Messages from VondieOn Christmas EveSanta Claus Stops ByQuestionsTanka for Language Arts ClassI don t think I ll ever get used toBasketball Rule #9As we re about to leave for the final gameDuring warm-upsText Messages from Mom, Part TwoFor DadThe Last ShotOvertimeArticle #2 in the Daily News (January 14)Where Do We Go from Here?star lessBasketball Rule #10 There are so many friendsFree ThrowsAbout the Author For Big Al and Barbara,also known as Mom and Dad Copyright 2014 by Kwame Alexander All rights reserved.

5 For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book,write to Permissions, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 215 Park Avenue South,New York, New York 10003. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file. ISBN 978-0-544-10771-7 eISBN the top of the key, I mMOVING & GROOVING,POPping and ROCKING Why you BUMPING?Why you LOCKING?Man, take this careful though, cause now I m CRUNKingCrissCROSSINGFLOSSING flippingand my dipping will leave youS L I P P I N G on the floor, while ISWOOP into the finish with a fierce finger roll.

6 Straight in the hole:Swoooooooooooosh. Josh Bellis my Filthy McNasty is my claim to call me that cause my game s acclaimed,so downright dirty, it ll put you to hair is long, my height s , I m the next Kevin Durant,LeBron, and Chris Paul. Remember the greats,my dad likes to gloat:I balled with Magic and the tricks are for kids, I t need your petsmy game s sofly. Mom says,Your dad s old school,like an ol re fresh and new,like a red game so sweet, it s a cr pes time you playit s ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL net.

7 If anyone else called mefresh and sweet,I d burn mad as a I know she s only talking about my , when I play ball,I m on I shoot,I hoop s for sale,and I m the I Got My NicknameI m not that big on jazz music, but Dad day we were listening to a CDof a musician named Horace Silver, and Dad says, Josh, this cat is the real to that piano, fast and free,Just like you and JB on the court. It s okay, I guess, DID YOU SAY OKAY?Boy, you better recognize greatness when you hear Silver is one of the you shoot half as good as he jams Dad, no one says hippest , they ought to, cause this catis so hip, when he sits down he s still standing, he says.

8 Real funny, know what, Josh?What, Dad? I m dedicating this next song to s the next song?Only the best song,the funkiest songon Silver s Paris Blues album: FILTHYMcNASTY. At firstI didn t likethe namebecause so many kidsmade fun of meon the school bus,at lunch, in the Mom had jokes. It fits you perfectly, Josh, she said:You never clean your closet, andthat bed of yours is always filledwith cookie crumbs and candy s just plain nasty, son. But, as I got olderand started getting game,the name took on a new even though I wasn t intoall that jazz,every time I d score,rebound,or steal a ball,Dad would jump upsmiling and screamin ,That s my boy out it funky, Filthy!

9 And that made me feelreal goodabout my McNastyis a MYTH ical MANchildOf rather dubious distinctionAlways AGITATINGCOMBINATINGand ELEVATING his gameHe dribblesfakesthen takesthe ROCK to theglass, fast, and on BLASTBut watch out when he shootsor you ll get SCHOOLed FOOLedUNCOOLed Cause when FILTHY gets hotHe has a SLAMMERIFIC SHOTIt sDunkalicious CLASSYS upersonic SASSYand DOWN rightin your facemcNASTYJ ordan BellMy twin brother is a only thing he lovesmore than basketballis betting.

10 If it s ninety degreesoutside and the sky is cloudless,he will bet youthat it s going to s annoyingand sometimesfunny. Jordan insists that everyonecall him JB. His favorite player isMichael Jordan, but hedoesn t want people to thinkhe s sweating though he is. Evidence: He has one pairof Air Jordan sneakersfor every monthof the yearincluding Air Jordan 1 LowBarack Obama Limited Editions,which he never he has MJ sheets, pillowcases,slippers, socks, underwear, notebooks,pencils, cups, hats, wristbands,and sunglasses.