After the Shot Drops is an contemporary urban story regarding two friends Bunny and Nasir who have been best friends since childhood. But things change when Bunny accepts an athletic scholarship at another school across town, leaving Nasir feeling abandoned and betrayed. It’s not all roses for Bunny, either, as he tries to fit in with his new, privileged mostly white peers. Nasir spends more time with his cousin, Wallace, who is being evicted. Nasir doesn’t understand wonder why the people in their neighborhood are so ramped up over Bunny’s scholarship when Wallace is the one who needs help and support.

Things go south when Wallace makes a sport bet against Bunny, leaving Nasir in a miserable situation. He has to make an impossible, and potentially dangerous decision.

The story is told from alternating perspectives and deals with themes about the responsibilities of great talent, the importance of compassion, the value of friendship, the importance of family, and the need for courage in difficult situations. While basketball may be what hooks in the reader, and there is plenty of basketball in the novel, it is the relationships that make the story. This book will appeal to YA readers who enjoyed Slam, The Hate U Give, Hooper, All American Boys, or The Crossover.