Basketball has always come easily to twelve-year-old Devon Rosario of the Bronx, but it has been a long time since he actually enjoyed playing; but then he sees Jamal, a Yemeni refugee, doing BMX tricks on his bike and suddenly Devon sees a way to put fun back into sports--provided he can keep his new passion secret from his father.

Eighth-grader and starting point guard Roman is initially thrilled when big man Sebastian transfers schools and joins the team, but Sebastian's skills seem to have disappeared and the other kids are merciless in their criticism--then Roman's big sister gives him some advice: talk to Sebastian and find out what is going on, and add a pick-and-roll to the team playbook.

Asiyah Najjar enjoys playing volleyball with her friend, Lucy, and the rest of the players in their recreational league, but this year Lucy has talked her into joining the travel team--and suddenly volleyball is a lot more demanding, and a lot less fun, then it used to be, and easy-going Asiyah must learn to dig deep if she does not want to let her teammates down.