“Jusuf, stick out your hand.”
Jusuf Nurkic looked over to see Tim Duncan addressing him. He was a bit surprised that an NBA legend was talking to him so directly during the pregame shootaround, but tried not to show it. “Why?”
“Just do it. You’ll see,” Tim Duncan said firmly, his characteristic wide-eyed stare making Jusuf feel like all of his inner emotions were on full display. Jusuf shrugged and stuck out his hand palm-up.
Tim grabbed Jusuf’s offered hand with both of his own. Immediately, a tingling sensation overwhelmed Jusuf’s hand and arm, and he yanked back his hand like it had been burned. “What was that?” he yelped. He hook his hand, but the tingling persisted.
“Just a little gift from me to you,” Tim answered cryptically, a small smile on his lips. “You’ll determine its exact nature in time. Maybe even before this game is over.” The older player turned and walked back to his own side of the court, where his own teammates were putting up practice shots. However, Jusuf could see Gregg Popovich standing off to the side, a pronounced expression of surprise on his usually-staid face.
Jusuf looked down at his hand. What gift could Tim have given him just through touching hands?