The Most Unstoppable Signature Moves in the NBA
Russell Westbrook has fashioned a rather prolific (and profitable) NBA career out of pulling off breathtaking stunts, the sorts of stunts that few have ever seen on a basketball court of any sort.
Much less in a professional game, against the best players in the world, in front of thousands of screaming fans.
Yet, the most memorable play made by the star guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the 2012 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat (aside from a Craigslist-style missed connection with Thabo Sefolosha late in the fourth quarter) was of the sort that hoops fans have seen pulled off at full speed many times before.
Just not by Westy.
With about eight minutes left in the third quarter, Westbrook made his way down the lane, but rather than soar in for another earth-shattering slam, he opted to fake a behind-the-back pass and gallop past a helpless Chris Bosh for an easy layup.
At which point, Rajon Rondo immediately called up his lawyer to inquire about copyright law and the possibility of suing Westbrook for royalties.
Not that Rondo is the only player in the NBA with a signature move. Just about every great player seems to have at least one by which people can identify him and his influence in others.
Like, say, this handful of calling-card maneuvers from some of the best in The Association today.
Rajon Rondo's Show-and-Go
To be fair, Rondo's behind-the-back fake pass isn't necessarily his own, per se. SLAM Magazine's Myles Brown was quick to note (like any good hipster) that all the Rondo references were better spent on a current Hall-of-Famer:
"It's not a Rondo, it's a Pippen.
— Myles Brown (@mdotbrown) June 18, 2012"
The video evidence checks out:
Of course, it's difficult to find any effective move in the NBA today that's completely and utterly original. The game's been around long enough that just about everything physically possible has been tried and done (see: Contest, Dunk), and those moves that were most effective have been picked up, used and (in some cases) improved upon by later generations of savvy students of the game.
Or, in Rondo's case, as the unintended consequence of owning a freakishly large pair of mitts that let you do things like this:
It was particularly peculiar seeing Westy imitate Rondo not because Russ doesn't have the hands to do it (quite the contrary), but rather because of the patience and ability to change speeds that a successful execution of the show-and-go requires. Westbrook's developed a reputation as something of a ruthless and reckless rim-rocker rather than a crafty, stop-and-go point guard a la Rondo and Chris Paul.
But if Westy can make the Pippen/Rondo a reliable part of his arsenal...then watch out, world.
Manu Ginobili's Euro Step
Westbrook isn't even original as far as Thunder stars imitating NBA vets are concerned.
He'll first have to get behind James Harden, who's made a habit out of Euro-Stepping his way to the basket, much like Manu Ginobili of the San Antonio Spurs:
The imitation isn't without irony, either. Like Manu, Harden is a left-handed scoring assassin who comes off the bench for his team, the general manager of which first rose to prominence as a member of the Spurs organization.
As good as Harden's is, though, nobody in the NBA does it quite as well as Manu does, especially in this beautiful breakdown:
As Manu explains, the Euro Step comes in handy when driving to the rim around a static help defender, most often on a pick-and-roll. It's essentially a dribble-less crossover—faking one way, stepping the other—that works best when the defender has given up his or her lateral movement.
But enough of my blabbering on. Here's a look at Ginobili's Euro Step in action:
Kobe Bryant's Swing-Through/Jab Step
If imitation is, indeed, the highest form of flattery, then Kobe Bryant must be "aww shucks"ing and blushing just about every time he turns on a game, especially those starring Carmelo Anthony and yet another OKC stud, Kevin Durant.
Granted, that could mean any number of things, considering how many wide and varied Kobe's repertoire is and has been for years.
The most basic and most prolific of all, though, are the jab step and swing-through that he uses to create space on his jump shot. Here's Kobe with the walkthrough:
The beauty of the move is in its simplicity. All it requires is that he square his body to the basket while in triple threat, either jab or swing through to test the defender, and rise and fire if said defender responds by giving him space.
Not that Kobe was at all the first player to use such moves to his advantage, or that he'll be the last. Look who else was a fan of the jab step:
Tim Duncan's Bank Shot
Kobe's long been one of the great students of the game and has never been shy to appeal to his peers for advice.
Some years back, The Black Mamba went to the All-Star Game, as he so often does, and came back shooting bank shots, thanks to the one-on-one tutelage of Tim Duncan:
Like the jab step or the swing-through, the bank shot is almost as old as the game itself. So long as there have been backboards, there have been players willing to use it to their advantage, though not always from 15-to-18 feet.
Unfortunately, banking in shots from the mid-range seems to be a dying art, albeit one that The Big Fundamental has perfected, right along with winning forever and wanting to play in San Antonio.
Granted, it's not quite as exciting as, say, a Rondo or a Ginobili Euro Step, but it's effective nonetheless...not unlike everything else about Duncan's game.
Luckily, Adam Sandler and Kevin James are doing their darndest to keep the bank open in the hearts and minds of hoop heads everywhere:
Tony Parker's Floater
It should come as little surprise that this list is so Spurs-friendly. Like I said, they win forever and they do so with players who are well-schooled in skills that are rare and/or up-and-coming.
Like, say, Tony Parker's unstoppable floater:
Again, the floater is nothing new to the basketball, but in today's NBA, where point guards reign supreme and the rules favor those who can drive in from the perimeter, the shot is more important and prolific than ever. All the best point guards, from Chris Paul to Steve Nash and beyond, are adept at finish with one hand between three and 10 feet from the cup, whether it be off of penetration, a post-up, a pick-and-roll or any other of a long list of scenarios on the hardwood.
The key is having a soft yet accurate touch. A successful floater requires the proper feathery quality to make sure that the ball has the appropriate arc in its flight and that the force of the player's body going in either direction doesn't impact it. Most guards tend to be prolific either from 18 feet and beyond or right next to the basket, where they can lay the ball in or dunk it home.
But if you can flip the orange up and in from that awkward no-man's land that lies between the goal and the midrange, then no defender, be he a seven-foot behemoth or a stumpy guard, can quite stand a chance.
And if you're as quick as Parker, then even better.
Steve Nash's One-Footed Runner
While many have imitated and duplicated Parker's floater, few (if any) have been so successful copying Steve Nash's running jump shot off one foot:
The shot serves essentially the same purpose as a floater; it allows a guard to finish in the midrange while on the move, without his shot getting blocked by a big man.
But, rather than go up with one hand, Nash has the ability to use two.
In essence, Nash's runner is a hybrid between a pull-up jumper and a floater, albeit one without equal in the NBA today. It's one that, as Doug Collins notes in the video above, every guard should learn, but, for a slew of reasons (not the least of which is its difficulty), very few actually do.
Kevin Garnett's Fadeaway Jumper
The same could be said of Kevin Garnett's "patented" fadeaway jump shot, though the move itself is hardly unique to him.
Rather, it's The Big Ticket's size, length and proficiency in the post that make his fadeaway so deadly. Rare is the forward/center who can hit a shot while essentially falling away from a defender with any regularity.
Yet, KG's shot is not only crisp and reliable enough to warrant use in game action, but also blends perfectly with his ability to spin away from bigger, slower defenders down low, as he does here against Andrew Bynum:
Between his height (at 6'11), his long arms and his fadeaway action, Garnett can just about get his shot off whenever he wants, against whomever he pleases, without any fear of it being blocked from the moment it leaves his hands to when it trickles through the twine.
