Our Season Has Come to End

The 2024 TBL season has come to a close for the Firebirds. Here’s how our season and playoff run ended, and what we accomplished.

If you’ve been following the Firebirds playoff run, you know that the team defeated the Jamestown Jackals in our play-in game, and the Jacksonville 95ers in the first round. After that, the Firebirds moved on to play the Albany Patroons in the Eastern Conference Finals. While unfortunately I wasn’t able to write on Firebird Focus much over the past two weeks, here’s how the series went down.

Game 1 was a home game for the Firebirds, but unfortunately, it resulted in a loss. The Firebirds had their worst shooting night of the entire season, and the Patroons won 105-92. Games 2 and 3 were both in Albany, meaning if the Firebirds wanted to advance, they would have to win both games on the road.

That’s exactly what the Firebirds did. Game 2 in Albany resulted in a 122-115 Firebirds win, with the team playing like their old selves. Dreko Palmer was crucial in the victory, dropping 41 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals. As it turned out, his 41 points were the most scored by any player in the world on that day. How cool is that?

The series would be determined by Game 3, and by halftime, it was a one-point game. However, at the end of the third quarter, the Firebirds were down by 10 points, meaning they would need a big run to take the lead and the game. Fortunately, making big runs is exactly what this team is known for. The Firebirds took the lead, held on, and escaped with a three-point victory. They stunned the Patroons, their fans, and every local media outlet in Albany.

With that, the Firebirds moved on to the Regional Finals (Final Four of the TBL playoffs), and got a really nice trophy. Their next opponent would be the St. Louis Griffins.

In this series, the Firebirds made the most of their home-court advantage, winning Game 1 by three points, 114-111. Game 2 would be a Griffins victory, however, as they won by eight. The close margins in all the games would prove just how well-matched these two teams were.

In Game 3, the score and momentum kept shifting back and forth, until the score was tied at 112 at the end of regulation. The game went into overtime, and the Firebirds trailed for most of the five minutes. However, with 20 seconds left, down by three, Dreko Palmer hit a shot from downtown to tie the game. However, in heart-breaking fashion, the Griffins went back up the court and nailed a shot at the buzzer to end the Firebirds season.

It was a tragic way for the season to end, so ridiculously close to arriving at the TBL Finals and earning the Lillie. Still, we’re proud of all of our players for the work they put in, the organization, and all the fans who showed out to games and supported the team.

Thank you to everyone who made this season possible for the Raleigh Firebirds. Next year, we’re going to come back stronger and better than before…and that includes Firebird Focus. The publication will take a break for the next few months, but before you know it, we’ll be back and better than ever.

Until then,

-Tex