Photo by quaestor from Flickr
During the lockout, fans have been forced to get their necessary basketball fix from various semi-pro summer leagues and random pickup games. While some have found themselves discontent with a game replete of structure, defense, or strategy, others have reveled in the substance and style of the incredible individual skill. Off the back board alley oops, crazy dunks, and 60 points scoring efforts have replaced the knock down, grind out games that can often become the norm during the NBA playoffs. More importantly, the game’s most complex, beautiful, intricate, and improvisational skill has been readily on display. Summer shootouts have provided a stage for some of the leagues best ball-handlers. Whether it’s Brandon Jennings crossing over back-and-forth, back-and-forth, until the defender has lost all sense of direction, or Chris Paul making Kevin Durant look silly, these summer league games have given us a look at some of the black top flair and bravado that attracts so many fans.
Yes, basketball is a team game. But great ball movement and team defense don’t seem to call out that instinctive, uncontrollable “OHHHHHHHHH†that comes after every ankle-breaking move. It’s dominance coupled with artistic expression, in your face swagger imbued with subtle refinement. Here we celebrate and examine some of the most memorable and awe-inspiring moves from those that have left their imprint on fans, the league, and basketball history.
Baron Davis’ Fake Behind The Back Pass
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tq9mMZQCqg&w=420&h=325]
There’s nothing incredibly complex about this move. Anyone with a good handle can pull it off, but the move itself is a crafty deviation of similar dribble fakes that came before it. We’d seen the behind the back dribble, the fake around the back pass (a move Rajon Rondo has recently made popular again) and the behind the back gather. What Baron gave us was a mixture of all three. Here he comes, leading a two on one break with a defender in the middle of the floor. Just after mid-court he swings his body and arm to create an angle that resembles the movement of an around the back pass. Then just as the defender believes he has read the play correctly, Davis whips the ball back around his body, leaving the unsuspecting opponent stumbling, dumbfounded by this playful piece of trickery. The entire arena goes nuts simultaneously totally aware and unable to comprehend what has just transpired. Davis is giddy, delighted to have provided his present company with an unforgettable highlight.
Jamal Crawford’s Shake N’ Bake
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wZHY_AjJu0&w=420&h=325]
Jamal Crawford posses some of the greatest YouTube ball handling highlights the league has ever seen. He has one of the best crossovers in the league (if you don’t believe me, just ask Ray Allen), and has crafted a signature move that is as deadly as it is unique. The Shake N’ Bake is extremely difficult to execute correctly. The timing and footwork requires countless hours of practice and incredible coordination. The ease with which Crawford performs this juke is astounding. Initially at full sprint, he can settle in with a quick stutter, perform a short behind the back dribble, and then explode in the other direction with a hop step. It’s a smooth, even graceful experience to watch Crawford put it around his back as he bounds away from his defender. There’s something calming and comforting in this series of fakes that betrays the frustration and unpredictability that belies Crawford’s game.
The Shammgod
Thanks to @joetothemo for suggesting this one.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoWUCkwf1ug&w=420&h=325]
A ball handling (Shamm) God. A man that possessed the most unique, audacious, and absurd crossover the game has ever seen. The entire process overflowed with bravado, oozed confidence. It was a move that quite simply said “Here’s me making a fool out of you.†He casually makes his way to the right wing then pushes the ball out to the right, in front of the defenders face, as if to say “take it, it’s yoursâ€, and then, just at the last second, Shammgod reaches across with his left hand and sweeps the ball across his body, leaving the defender utterly perplexed. The ball had been right in front of him. A second later, it was in some other place entirely. Shammgod believed he was the best ball handler to ever play the game, and this crossover was his rightful claim to the throne.
Chris Paul’s In-N-Out Spin Move
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-Lr7NmSIxY&w=420&h=325]
The in-and-out into a spin move is something we’ve seen before. It’s not inherently unique to Paul yet he finds a way to make it his own. The way he seamlessly incorporates the movements is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. His spin move is so good it almost feels as though he invented it, or at the very least re-defined it. I remember back in 2005 , Chris Paul was in Portland to work out for the Blazers before the draft. He happened to be at a local gym playing pick up basketball against ex-pros and college players. As people throughout the gym realized he was in the game, a crowd started to form around his court. I distinctly recall Paul busting out this exact combination of dribbles and fakes. I immediately turned to a friend and both of us had this look on our face like “HOLY S*** â€. I knew then (or at least I’d like to pretend I did) that Paul would be a special player in the league. No one before or since has handled the ball quite like CP3. It’s hard to call what he does dribbling, it’s something different. It comes far too easy to him. It’s intrinsic, god-given, and incredibly awesome to watch.
