When we’re down by a point with less than 15 seconds to go in the game and the coach calls a play where I’m supposed to take the last shot, the only thing I’m thinking is that I’ve got to get that shot off.

I’m not thinking that I have to make the shot or that everything is riding on the shot. I just want to get the shot off and make it.

Most of the time the play the coach calls doesn’t happen because the defense forces us out of that play. So I’m just looking to get open and to take the shot.

If I’ve got the outside shot I’ll take it. If I see daylight to the basket I’ll drive to the hoop and either take the shot or pass off to someone who’s open when the defense collapses around me. You have to read the situation and do what the situation calls for. If you stick with the play the coach called and the shot’s not there, you’ll end up missing.

There’s a lot of intensity while all this is going on. The players on both teams are really into what’s going on because the game is on the line and the crowd is really into it. I can feel the crowd’s energy. But I’m concentrating so much on making the shot that while I feel the crowd’s energy I don’t get caught up with the crowd.
If I make the shot I’m happy because we win the game. If I miss I’m disappointed that we lost. But it’s not a thing of, "Oh, I made the shot," or, "Oh, I missed the shot." It’s just a thing of either winning or losing the game no matter who takes the last shot. It’s a team thing.

Sometimes when I take the last shot I know it’s going to be good before the ball actually goes through the hoop. I don’t know how I know this. I just know.

Jennifer Azzi is a guard for the San Jose Lasers.