Tyus Jones: A Three-Act Play

If you’re a fan of the performing arts, you may have heard of a popular structure used in narrative fiction referred to as a “three-act play.” Simply put, a three-act play is a form of storytelling that utilizes three major components - the setup, the confrontation, and the resolution.

On Monday night, while some of you (hopefully not many) were watching the College Football Playoff National Championship game between Alabama and Georgia, a certain young Wolves player found himself in the midst of his own three-act performance.

Ladies and gentleman, I give you “Tyus Jones: The North’s Star.”

Act One: The Setup

If you watched last night’s Wolves game or have Twitter, you may have seen/heard multiple references yesterday to a certain “Tyler Jones.” No, not the 28-year old pitcher from the Pittsburgh Pirates. This Tyus Jones:

Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Confused? Well, so was the antagonist in our story. See, at morning shoot around, when asked about the “young” Minnesota Timberwolves, LeBron James gave this rousing response:

Tyler Jones? You mean TYUS Jones? Either the Cleveland Cavalier assistant coaches made the same mistake on their pregame notes as my iPhone X does when it autocorrects “Tyus” to “Tyler,” or the three-time NBA champion doesn't have much time (or respect) for the first-round draft pick (and STARTING POINT GUARD) for his upcoming opponent. Either way, the setup has occurred.

Act Two: The Confrontation

Midway through the second quarter, the star of our play (Tyus Jones) stole the ball from Jeff Green and zoomed down the court for a 2-on-1 fast break, along with his friend and teammate Jimmy Buckets. There was only one problem. The “one” in this scenario was not Neo from the Matrix but a certain LeBron James (both of whom ironically possess the same otherworldly skills and athleticism). The result of this confrontation was simple:

After stealing the ball from Jeff Green, every single person who had seen Act One knew exactly how Act Two was about to play out. What they couldn't predict was how the play would end...

Act Three: The Resolution

With our star battered and beaten on the floor, all hope seemed lost for young Tyus. Despite a 20-point lead, “The King” had tarnished young Tyus’ name and legacy on the same day and in the same place he calls home. All hail the...

AND THEN, like a XL shirt shot out of a t-shirt cannon, Tyus Jones stole the ball from the elder wizard Dwayne Wade and zoomed down the court, this time all alone and without the camaraderie of his dear friend Jimmy.

Similar to his last adventure though, “The King” was lurking yet again, sizing him up for yet another memorable chase down block to add his his collection. However, this time, young Tyus was ready:

Following the advice of a wise old Birdman, the protagonist of our story once and forever engraved his name, his REAL name, into NBA folklore by demanding that LeBron James “put some respeck on my name.”

And just like that, “The North’s Star” was born. Whether it was the dunk, the bench reaction, the stare down, or the sound of a sold-out Target Center losing their collective minds, everything about that moment last night was truly perfect.