The 7.0 Most Mobile Companions in the NBA

Weaving through traffic, grazing the shoulder of teammates setting picks, and peeling off into open space to nail a wide-open jumper, these players have the nuances of moving without the ball down to a science. 

They log miles on the court, in constant motion, working diligently to get enough space to flash their silky-smooth shooting strokes. They drive defenders nuts and help their point guards easily fill up their assists columns. 

You aren't going to find this precise movements in highlights; casual fans will not be recounting tales of their effort to get open, but it is a vital, and vastly underrated, facet of quality basketball. 

It is time these masters of motion get their due. Check out the seven best players in the NBA at moving without the ball. 

Ray Allen

Even at the age of 36, Ray Allen is the unquestioned king of moving without the ball. Earlier in his career, Allen was a very underrated ball handler, but he has always been at his best when catching and shooting. 

Every coach and player in the NBA knows Allen's three-point shot is a deadly weapon. Not letting Allen get any daylight is always a priority for the defense of his opposition, yet he always gets his open looks. 

In fact, Allen knocked down a career best 45.8 percent of his threes this year, largely due to his movement without the ball. 

He is excellent at curling and fading off of screens, and he constantly looks for those screens. 

Allen has also mastered another area of moving without the ball that often goes unnoticed. He knows how, when and where to set screens and slides off of them while defenders scramble to keep up. 

Richard Hamilton

At 34, Richard Hamilton struggled with injuries this season. When he was on the court, you will be hard pressed to find any film of him being stationary on offense. 

Hamilton stays in constant motion to work for an open shot. This is typically either for a mid-range jumper or an easy run at a close look. 

Hamilton isn't capable of playing as many minutes now, but he has played as many as 38 minutes a game, and he never stopped moving. One of the things that has made Hamilton so effective is he constantly changes speeds. 

He will go from a light joke to a full-on burst, and defenders are helpless to know when this will happen. 

Manu Ginobili

Manu Ginobili has a different vision for the way the game of basketball should be played. He has always been a supremely effective shooting guard, but done that with his own style. 

His basketball IQ is off the charts. He has mastered the nuances of the pick-and-roll, spacing and moving without the ball. 

This is a player that moves so much on the court that not even the hair on his own head can keep up. 

Ginobili often curls off of screens to get open for a pass while slicing towards the rim, and then laying the ball up from an angle and spin that is so unique it can only be attributed to his mastery of the metric system. 

Kyle Korver

When guarding Kyle Korver, defenders have to worry about one thing, and that is keeping him from drilling a three off of a catch and shoot. 

This past season, Korver averaged 8.1 points per game, and 5.4 of those points came off of threes. In 2009-10, he set an NBA record by hitting 53.6 percent beyond the arc. 

He is not particularly fast or quick, and he doesn't create off the dribble. He gets his threes by working hard and peeling off of screens without leaving any room for his defender to follow. 

Kevin Martin

Kevin Martin and Kyle Lowry form an underrated backcourt in Houston. Lowry is developing into an excellent true point guard, and with a player like Martin at shooting guard, it isn't hard. 

Martin does not need to have the ball in his hand for very long to be effective. He stays in constant motion, and—like the others on this list—he is excellent at coming off screens. 

He is not reliant on screens to get open off the ball though. Martin is lightning quick. He can lost defenders with his first step. 

The other area where he really shines without the ball is in the open court. He has tremendous instincts and knows exactly where to go to provide an open passing lane to whoever is bringing the ball up the court. 

Paul Pierce

Rajon Rondo is putting up video game assist numbers. He led the league by a full assist per game this year, and it is no surprise. 

Yes, he is excellent at penetrating and dishing, but he also has the luxury of playing with two of the game's great at moving without the ball. 

We've already talked about Ray Allen's greatness in this regard; Paul Pierce is not far off. 

The Celtics bigs have been well-trained to set screens, and Pierce knows how to run off of them. He is especially dangerous curling off the screen and working the mid-range game. 

However, it is Allen that runs off of more screens in this offense. Pierce also spends a lot of time moving laterally to find daylight, and he has perfected that technique. 

Kobe Bryant

When you think of the Black Mamba, the first thing that comes to mind is not moving without the ball. Shoot, it might not even be the tenth thing that comes to mind. 

Bryant spends a lot of game time with the ball in his hand, and gets most of his points off the dribble. As great as he is, he is not elite on the catch-and-shoot.

However, he certainly knows how to move without the ball. It is vital for a player like him. There are moments in games where he has two and even three players keeping close tabs on him to try and deny him the ball, and being denied the ball is not something Kobe enjoys.

Bryant can curl off screens with the best of him. He has also mastered how to use his body to shield off the defender, and create a nice open target. 

Kobe's game means he does not have to work as hard all game away from the ball, but when he needs, you better believe he excels at it.