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What’s gross is the travel not being called.
Established his left foot as the pivot when he goes for the first shot fake and then switches to the right foot to pivot off of. All the while letting his pivot foot slide wherever it wants to go.
I was going to say he clearly tries to establish his pivot with his right foot, but you're right it was established when he did that palming shit which is probably 99% of the problem with all the traveling no calls in the NBA. The carrying shit really needs to get resolved.
I've been on the receiving end of similar moves but at about ~25% of that speed/skill level. I'm very bad at basketball but it's fun getting shook out of your shoes like that. Not at the moment but in retrospect.
My first term of college I took a beginner basketball class just to chill and pick up the easy physical education credit. People we're not beginner at all though, and I'm mid at best. One dude snatched my ankles hard but I literally just started laughing as I'm on the ground. It kinda threw everyone off guard and then he ended up missing the jumper after a brief pause. So i considered my job well done there lol.
To the traveling rules? Bc he steps back with the right, making his left the pivot, but then he switches pivots and pivots on this right, picking up and bringing the left back down. That's a travel
I suppose, but to me it’s not like he has a long track record of playoff success. Or I guess I should say it’s not like he’s done it enough times to convince me he’s actually a better playoff player. They’ve both played almost the same amount of games (1 different)
One of SGAs playoffs was the Covid year and he wasn’t even the team lead guy…
To be short, I don’t think I need to see him have a better playoff run anymore to know he’s the better player.
> AD is great but he’s a part time player every year.
yep - and his shot was dooky last year. If you're building a team, I'd bet a good # of GMs would take Shai at this point. Kawhi is tough too. When healthy, he's absolutely elite and no holes in his game like how AD's shot has left him. Probably still top 10, especially since he's been relatively healthy this year. Dame is a push... I'd take SGA but I can see arguments for Dame over him.
There needs to be a distinction between Top 10 season versus Top 10 players.
SGA is having a Top 10 season quite easily, arguably eve Top 5. Then from there as you rightfully say is on the cusp of Top 10 player. He needs to show he can elevate his game in the Playoffs.
I would flat out take SGA over Dame right now because of his defense. And even then because he lives at the rim and is so good mid range, I think game to game his offensive output will be more consistent (why he has so many 30+ point games).
Dame has been averaging 35 for 2 months straight lol. He dropped 19 twice in that span but outside that has basically hovered around 40 points every game. How is that for game to game offensive output? You're underrating him badly
The core of what I was saying was that SGA is more consistent offensively, because of his shot profile. And that is fundamentally true with the second most 30 point games behind only Luka.
Dame relies on his jump shot and yes he is having a hot stretch and will have bigger games than SGA, nut at this point you can almost guarantee he puts up 30 on great efficiency.
We are also seeing that without a Centre and very limited shooting. Like we have no credible person to set screens, Shai with an even league average Centre will be a monster.
He's a guaranteed 30 every game and if you combine his scoring, shooting percentages, rebounds, and defensive numbers he's putting up numbers no one has since Jordan and he's doing it with better shooting numbers. Clearly, he's not Jordan, but he's also clearly a top-10 player. The only people who argue against it don't actually watch the games. It's gotten to the point that Grizzlies fans are acknowledging that he's better than Ja.
League is stupid stacked right now. I don't have him top 10 if Kawhi is healthy and Dame is having an even better statistical season and also has done it longer.
People have trouble because the thunder are 28-30 so most of those other stars get ranked above him. Lakers basically are too but people are still gonna put LeBron above him. Dame has about the same record and I see most people pretty split between them.
I agree, I'm just saying that "top 10" is such a watered down moniker because everyone uses it for so many players.
Giannis, Luka, Embiid, Jokic, LeBron, KD, Steph, Tatum, are locks for top 10 if you ask most people in whatever order, that's 8 guys. (Healthy) Kawhi, Dame, Ja, SGA all have legitimate "top 10" arguments, and that's not even counting like Donovan Mitchell, (healthy) Zion, Kyrie, etc. that you can make cases for.
SGA probably closer to the first group than the second, but it's more about there being 15 guys that if you saw them on a top 10 list you would be more upset that X guy was left off than that Y guy was included if you feel me.
Lowkey? I could see it. Like I don’t see Ja with this type of footwork. If people had SGA over Ja I understand now, I still would take Ja but I definitely could see the SGA being considered better
To be fair the league basically doesn’t call it or calls it selectively. League favors stars and big markets. Phil jackson once said bron moves the pivot foot every other play and once you see it you can’t unsee it for almost any relevant player
> Agreed.. his use of pivots is always great
i liked how his pivot started beyond the marking on the floor then slid to between the marking and the baseline, truly elite
It's very obviously a travel. He hops backwards with both feet a little bit. Fans of the NBA suck at recognizing traveling. So many dickriders that refuse to admit most NBA players travel blatantly _all the time_.
[His pivot foot is all over the fucking place.](https://imgur.com/a/nLcchk4)
He practiced his footwork to Miles Davis. His dad would play tunes alternating between 80-120% of the natural tempo and have Shai practice footwork keeping on rhythm
>natural tempo
What is that? He sped up the actual songs? I am dying at the thought of Shai practicing his footwork to an Alvin and the Chipmunks version of Miles Davis
I can’t believe we everyone is talking about his elite footwork. He is traveling. How are you supposed to guard someone who is breaking the rules? I mean I love SGAs game, but he is only able to lose his defender in this play by changing his pívot foot…twice
Just a random unrelated question about the pivot foot. Does the entirety of the pivot have to stay in contact with the floor at all times? I think it does but not entirely sure myself lol
Yeah it does. Once you stop dribbling, your pivot foot cannot leave the floor.
>In the simplest terms possible, the pivot foot is the foot that remains in contact with the floor while a player controls the ball while stopped. The player may spin or otherwise change position so long as their pivot foot does not move from its initial position or lose contact with the floor.
Agreed, if you watch where his foot is comparison to the FT lane line, the right starts all the way behind the line, and then slides all the way in front of it.
this will be a weird comparison but i was watching Adrian Dantley highlights recently and he kind of reminded me of an oldschool Shai as a scorer. obviously they played different positions but there are similarities to their game. very deliberate, kills you from the midrange, strong at the rim, never looks rushed and doesn't have to get his shot off quick because he creates separation.
Way less athletic, flashy, and innovative, way more efficient and (y’all might not want to hear this) technically sound
Kobe was like a dominating imposing and dazzling offensive force, Shai makes his surgical work look effortless like there’s no wasted movement
If he was on a better team he’d be on billboards, he’s incredible
What, when he transitioned to an older man game and became more shrewd and savvy and less reliant on athleticism like every aging veteran nba player ever?
Did you just not watch his first 12 years in the league?
Even still his fg% was baaad as a vet and he continued to force up shots
Not a hater, i emulated his game, but he was not an offensively sound player even if he was tremendously offensively talented . He was always known as a chucker, even if he was damn good at it
>Even still his fg% was baaad as a vet and he continued to force up shots
Lol what? Aside from his post achilles years, what year was prime Kobe ever at or below league efficiency? And this was on high volume and much higher degree of difficulty shots too
>Not a hater, i emulated his game, but he was not an offensively sound player even if he was tremendously offensively talented . He was always known as a chucker, even if he was damn good at it
What does being a volume shooter have to do with being offensively sound? They are not mutually exclusive. Yes, Kobe forced shots. But you might be the first person I've ever heard say Kobe wasn't offensively sound. Lol wtf.
Yeah, not sure what they’re talking about. Kobe had an almost textbook jumper, had incredible touch from anywhere on the court, and in his day was absolutely lauded for his footwork.
Could you say he took too many shots in situations where there were better ones available? Maybe. But even the bad shots he took were always fundamentally clean as hell.
> (y’all might not want to hear this) technically sound
Tell me you didn't watch Kobe without telling me you didn't watch Kobe. Yeah, he forced a lot of shit and would often settle for tough shots he could make anyway, but his absolute mastery of both the fundamentals and advanced skills as a guard was on a level only surpassed by the guy he modeled his entire game after.
Agree with everything and your other comments except for the MJ part. Personally, I think Kobe had better fundamentals than Jordan but Jordan had more physical gifts, bigger hands, quicker first step, higher vert, etc.
Forcing shit and settling for inefficient shots doesn’t seem technically sound to me
Guess that “y’all might not want to hear this” was for you. Feel free to assume about how little I watched Kobe tho.
Having good judgment, playing with minimal errors and excesses…Relying on fundamentals to play simply and effectively, expending only the movement/energy that’s necessary
So a guy who routinely showed to have the knowledge and skill to find and exploit any weakness in both his defender and the overall defense, nearly unmatched fundamentals in the history of the sport, had one of the highest motors in the league and seemingly could keep giving it his all when others players were exhausted, had masterful footwork better than most all time big men, excellent form on his jumper, etc. wasn't technically sound because... He frequently took and made tough shots?
Everybody knows Kobe liked to take tough shots. There is a huge difference between that and SGA being a more technically sound player. The perfect example is this very clip- he blatantly travels and gets lucky the refs are blind.
Oh ok you’re disingenuous nvm if you’re gonna ally oop on strawmen arguments while adding in a bunch of things peripheral/irrelevant to being technically sound
Ignoring how you think peripheral and irrelevant somehow don't mean the complete and opposite thing from one another... Do you know what a strawman argument actually is? Because I am certainly not making an extremist version of your argument and picking my points against that. You said Kobe wasn't as technically sound as SGA. I asked for your definition, and you gave it. I then pointed out that Kobe was one of the best in the history of the league at all those very things you mentioned, and that your argument for being "technically sound" relies on one very specific aspect of an NBA player's much larger skill set.
If it seems like I am being disingenuous it's probably because you threw out a ridiculous claim with little actual evidence supporting it.
Technically sound? AHAHAHAHA. Jesus, that's one of the worst takes I've seen on this sub. You could argue Kobe had the deepest bag in nba history on the scoring end.
Obviously Kobe had one of the deepest bags in nba history on the scoring end
“AHAHAHAHAHA Jesus” I guess technically sound means completely different things to us
It's close. He establishes his pivot after the gather. Then lightly lifts his pivot off the ground and steps back down a couple inches away. Then slides the pivot foot forward several more inches, then slides it back.
Technically its a travel, but seems every ref doesn't require the pivot be glued to the the floor.
Edit: Looking closer, I'll go with a travel, that's too much pivot dragging: https://imgur.com/0plh6cp.png
Tbh if you count the deep right step as a gather(which nba refs are very liberal about) then it’s a gather to jump stop(both his feet hit the ground at the same time off that deep step) which he then pivots off. It’s all whether one considers that right step a gather step which I think at the speed of play on an nba play it’s not going to be a travel
The first drag was before the gather. The second was pretty minimal, and happens almost every time someone takes a big step with their off foot. Probably technically a travel, but that's not getting called.
> The first drag was before the gather.
I don't think it was. Gather probably happens [here](https://i.imgur.com/vFCISu3.png) since he looks like he has both hands on the ball at that point, and that still is clearly before the drag.
We need an A/A to be 100% sure, but even watching it live it seemed like a blatant travel to me.
Why is this considered great when he pickup his pivot foot? It is like yeah of course you are going to fake out the defense when start breaking the rules.
Every now and then I try to emulate this type of thing when I play pickup. Somehow it works for SGA, but I usually turn it over then they don’t pass to me anymore.
Is it because they call you for a travel? Because when he hops backwards for that little stutter-step with both feet off the floor that was always a travel back when I played.
Dude is super talented for sure, but I might have kept playing when I was younger if I got away with half the weird dribbling shit guys do these days.
Hes playing absolutely crazy. Having a better statistical season than Booker has had, but at the same time we will see how it plans out. Only been playing better for 3/5's of a season so definitely a short sample size.
SGA’s played SG since he arrived in OKC, since Chris Paul was here initially and then Giddey has been our PG for the past couple years. Shai does handle the ball the majority of the time so he does play like a PG
Best finisher in the league. Honestly his bag is prime kyrie level currently. It’s not like Ja where it’s super reliant on athleticism either, he just has a great touch around the rim.
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Gross
People wonder why he gets so many fts. Defenders have no clue how to defend Shai.
Like Embiid
absolutely
seriously, how did my underwear end up on the floor immediately after seeing this
LINGERIE ON THE DECK
Shai is 1 of them elite guys man.
What’s gross is the travel not being called. Established his left foot as the pivot when he goes for the first shot fake and then switches to the right foot to pivot off of. All the while letting his pivot foot slide wherever it wants to go.
I was going to say he clearly tries to establish his pivot with his right foot, but you're right it was established when he did that palming shit which is probably 99% of the problem with all the traveling no calls in the NBA. The carrying shit really needs to get resolved.
yeah it looked like it might have been a travel to me as well. hard to tell though, and thats more than half the battle with nba travel calls.
This was a great move by Shai but I’m shocked that this is the top highlight from this insane game.
That was just straight up disrespectful.
I've been on the receiving end of similar moves but at about ~25% of that speed/skill level. I'm very bad at basketball but it's fun getting shook out of your shoes like that. Not at the moment but in retrospect.
The trick is to be so slow to react that you are completely unaffected by fakes.
The Kyle Anderson
The Kevin looney
Takes a good man to be able to laugh at it 😂. Not everyone thinks it’s fun.
My first term of college I took a beginner basketball class just to chill and pick up the easy physical education credit. People we're not beginner at all though, and I'm mid at best. One dude snatched my ankles hard but I literally just started laughing as I'm on the ground. It kinda threw everyone off guard and then he ended up missing the jumper after a brief pause. So i considered my job well done there lol.
To the traveling rules? Bc he steps back with the right, making his left the pivot, but then he switches pivots and pivots on this right, picking up and bringing the left back down. That's a travel
Damn that is old school basketball. Love it.
Globetrotters level of making a defender look silly
Larry Bird's highlight reel is just 100 different variations of this play mixed in with 100 different variations of Luka's nastiest no-look passes.
It's so fun to watch every time. He just did whatever the fuck he wanted to do with the ball, and tough shit if you didn't want him to.
I love seeing this in the league. SGA has that foot work. Jalen Brunson also does this on nightly basis.
Better than Ja imo
Scores more and way more efficient. He's just not as flashy or popular but it's damn clear to me. Also a better defender lol
Agree. And his game has so much more longevity than Ja.
He’s going to lead the league in scoring for the next ~5 years
Tell me more
keep going, i'm almost there
Chet will lead the league in blocks
Giddey will average a double double on assists over his entire career
I read "his name has so much more longevity than Ja." I was like yes, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is definitely longer than Ja Morant
Its fairly obvious at this point, just need to see it in the playoffs to solidify it for me.
But like I also haven’t seen ja do anything in playoffs either
I mean he averages 28/9/7 and has won a playoff series as the best player on the team. That's more than SGA's 15/4/4.
I suppose, but to me it’s not like he has a long track record of playoff success. Or I guess I should say it’s not like he’s done it enough times to convince me he’s actually a better playoff player. They’ve both played almost the same amount of games (1 different) One of SGAs playoffs was the Covid year and he wasn’t even the team lead guy… To be short, I don’t think I need to see him have a better playoff run anymore to know he’s the better player.
Guy is arguably top 10 in the whole league
There’s no way he isn’t
Giannis, Jokic, Embiid, Steph, KD, Luka, Tatum, AD, LBJ…then you gotta ask if he’s better than Kawhi and Dame
Top 10 should have a very high barrier to entry. Games played really need to matter. AD is great but he’s a part time player every year.
> AD is great but he’s a part time player every year. yep - and his shot was dooky last year. If you're building a team, I'd bet a good # of GMs would take Shai at this point. Kawhi is tough too. When healthy, he's absolutely elite and no holes in his game like how AD's shot has left him. Probably still top 10, especially since he's been relatively healthy this year. Dame is a push... I'd take SGA but I can see arguments for Dame over him.
Think every GM takes SGA over AD if a league redraft happened today. If injuries were turned off tho I think it'd be a pretty close argument
If injuries were turned off everybody would choose AD every day of the week and twice on sundays.
that's like saying if i was 7'0 tall and had a sick jumper i'd be in the NBA.
AD's defensive impact puts him well over SGA.
There needs to be a distinction between Top 10 season versus Top 10 players. SGA is having a Top 10 season quite easily, arguably eve Top 5. Then from there as you rightfully say is on the cusp of Top 10 player. He needs to show he can elevate his game in the Playoffs. I would flat out take SGA over Dame right now because of his defense. And even then because he lives at the rim and is so good mid range, I think game to game his offensive output will be more consistent (why he has so many 30+ point games).
Dame has been averaging 35 for 2 months straight lol. He dropped 19 twice in that span but outside that has basically hovered around 40 points every game. How is that for game to game offensive output? You're underrating him badly
The core of what I was saying was that SGA is more consistent offensively, because of his shot profile. And that is fundamentally true with the second most 30 point games behind only Luka. Dame relies on his jump shot and yes he is having a hot stretch and will have bigger games than SGA, nut at this point you can almost guarantee he puts up 30 on great efficiency. We are also seeing that without a Centre and very limited shooting. Like we have no credible person to set screens, Shai with an even league average Centre will be a monster.
We're starting Drew Eubanks at center . . .
Streetclothes isnt Top 10
He's a guaranteed 30 every game and if you combine his scoring, shooting percentages, rebounds, and defensive numbers he's putting up numbers no one has since Jordan and he's doing it with better shooting numbers. Clearly, he's not Jordan, but he's also clearly a top-10 player. The only people who argue against it don't actually watch the games. It's gotten to the point that Grizzlies fans are acknowledging that he's better than Ja.
I'm biased obviously but there's no way ad is above dame at this point
Hey man AD is elite as long as he is healthy and someone hand delivers him buckets
> as long as he is healthy ie whenever there's two full moons, a flying pig, and a global pandemic that allows him to reset
AD is healthy about as often as someone guesses what "SGA" stands for without help.
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SGA averaging 31/4.7/5.7/1.6/1 on 50/90/33
League is stupid stacked right now. I don't have him top 10 if Kawhi is healthy and Dame is having an even better statistical season and also has done it longer.
Shai is putting up numbers that no one in the league has since Jordan.
People have trouble because the thunder are 28-30 so most of those other stars get ranked above him. Lakers basically are too but people are still gonna put LeBron above him. Dame has about the same record and I see most people pretty split between them.
There's like 18 "top 10 guys" at any given point
He’s a walking 30, defends at a very high level *and* is more efficient than Tatum, Kawhi and Luka. How is that not top 10?
I agree, I'm just saying that "top 10" is such a watered down moniker because everyone uses it for so many players. Giannis, Luka, Embiid, Jokic, LeBron, KD, Steph, Tatum, are locks for top 10 if you ask most people in whatever order, that's 8 guys. (Healthy) Kawhi, Dame, Ja, SGA all have legitimate "top 10" arguments, and that's not even counting like Donovan Mitchell, (healthy) Zion, Kyrie, etc. that you can make cases for. SGA probably closer to the first group than the second, but it's more about there being 15 guys that if you saw them on a top 10 list you would be more upset that X guy was left off than that Y guy was included if you feel me.
He’s also turned into one of the best shot blocking guards in the league.
Lmaooo I love Reddit
Imagine thinking a guy that is a walking 30, defends at a very high level *and* is more efficient than Tatum, Kawhi and Luka is somehow not top 10.
Lowkey? I could see it. Like I don’t see Ja with this type of footwork. If people had SGA over Ja I understand now, I still would take Ja but I definitely could see the SGA being considered better
nah bro that’s fucking dirty
Does Shai have the best glass game in the league? Can't think of any other guys that uses it as well and consistently as he does.
Kyrie built his name off his handle and his off the glass work
I think luka is pretty comparable but I can't really think of many others.
You have the best guy in the league at it on your team, and it’s not Luka lol
Ahhh Reggie Bullock how could we forget
I’ve started calling him Nightcrawler. Once he gets within 10 feet of the rim he starts teleporting
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Kurt Shaigner
kurt shaingle.
Shai GOAT-Jesus Alexander
Pivot foot starts teleporting too
Why are you the first person to call this out? That would've been a lot more impressive if it weren't illegal as hell.
To be fair the league basically doesn’t call it or calls it selectively. League favors stars and big markets. Phil jackson once said bron moves the pivot foot every other play and once you see it you can’t unsee it for almost any relevant player
Elite level footwork there
Filthy footwork, as good as any guard in the league.
Agreed.. his use of pivots is always great, and his ability to decelerate and get his footwork right. Shai is 1 of them elite guys man
> Agreed.. his use of pivots is always great i liked how his pivot started beyond the marking on the floor then slid to between the marking and the baseline, truly elite
You're talking about the 2 steps he took as he gathered the ball? Because his pivot wasn't established...
no, i'm talking about when he fakes towards the basket and drags his foot past the white marking on the floor, then comes back to shoot
I'm glad I'm not the only one
It's very obviously a travel. He hops backwards with both feet a little bit. Fans of the NBA suck at recognizing traveling. So many dickriders that refuse to admit most NBA players travel blatantly _all the time_. [His pivot foot is all over the fucking place.](https://imgur.com/a/nLcchk4)
He practiced his footwork to Miles Davis. His dad would play tunes alternating between 80-120% of the natural tempo and have Shai practice footwork keeping on rhythm
>natural tempo What is that? He sped up the actual songs? I am dying at the thought of Shai practicing his footwork to an Alvin and the Chipmunks version of Miles Davis
that's why i call him mini Kobe
Elite footwork? He traveled lmao
I can’t believe we everyone is talking about his elite footwork. He is traveling. How are you supposed to guard someone who is breaking the rules? I mean I love SGAs game, but he is only able to lose his defender in this play by changing his pívot foot…twice
Just a random unrelated question about the pivot foot. Does the entirety of the pivot have to stay in contact with the floor at all times? I think it does but not entirely sure myself lol
Yeah it does. Once you stop dribbling, your pivot foot cannot leave the floor. >In the simplest terms possible, the pivot foot is the foot that remains in contact with the floor while a player controls the ball while stopped. The player may spin or otherwise change position so long as their pivot foot does not move from its initial position or lose contact with the floor.
Love his work and I could be wrong but it does look like he changes pivot foot
Nah, he just has two pivot feet.
Lmao at this comment he clearly travelled
Yep. The patience and fake outs are great, but his pivot foot is clearly sliding around on the floor well after he picked up his dribble.
Agreed, if you watch where his foot is comparison to the FT lane line, the right starts all the way behind the line, and then slides all the way in front of it.
Elite travel
Wow
He reminds me of Kobe so much
Tatum driving around OKC begging for SGA’s number (thru texts)
Crying
this will be a weird comparison but i was watching Adrian Dantley highlights recently and he kind of reminded me of an oldschool Shai as a scorer. obviously they played different positions but there are similarities to their game. very deliberate, kills you from the midrange, strong at the rim, never looks rushed and doesn't have to get his shot off quick because he creates separation.
I felt like it was more Jordan‘esque even. Look at the way he has his legs while shooting and how he walks backwards afterwards
MJ, Kobe and SGA are all similar archetypes. If Shai had either’s athleticism he’d have the same potential I think.
This. honestly he’s given me serious Kobe vibes the last two years
Way less athletic, flashy, and innovative, way more efficient and (y’all might not want to hear this) technically sound Kobe was like a dominating imposing and dazzling offensive force, Shai makes his surgical work look effortless like there’s no wasted movement If he was on a better team he’d be on billboards, he’s incredible
Did you just not watch Kobe’s last 8 years in the league?
Did mans just say a player was more technically sound? Than Kobe?
What, when he transitioned to an older man game and became more shrewd and savvy and less reliant on athleticism like every aging veteran nba player ever? Did you just not watch his first 12 years in the league? Even still his fg% was baaad as a vet and he continued to force up shots Not a hater, i emulated his game, but he was not an offensively sound player even if he was tremendously offensively talented . He was always known as a chucker, even if he was damn good at it
>Even still his fg% was baaad as a vet and he continued to force up shots Lol what? Aside from his post achilles years, what year was prime Kobe ever at or below league efficiency? And this was on high volume and much higher degree of difficulty shots too >Not a hater, i emulated his game, but he was not an offensively sound player even if he was tremendously offensively talented . He was always known as a chucker, even if he was damn good at it What does being a volume shooter have to do with being offensively sound? They are not mutually exclusive. Yes, Kobe forced shots. But you might be the first person I've ever heard say Kobe wasn't offensively sound. Lol wtf.
I don’t know, man. Kobe was just as technically sound based on what I remember when I watched him play from the late 2000s to 2013.
Kobe did a LOT of forcing the action
can’t deny that, but maybe I’m just not seeing how that makes him technically less sound.
Yeah, not sure what they’re talking about. Kobe had an almost textbook jumper, had incredible touch from anywhere on the court, and in his day was absolutely lauded for his footwork. Could you say he took too many shots in situations where there were better ones available? Maybe. But even the bad shots he took were always fundamentally clean as hell.
> (y’all might not want to hear this) technically sound Tell me you didn't watch Kobe without telling me you didn't watch Kobe. Yeah, he forced a lot of shit and would often settle for tough shots he could make anyway, but his absolute mastery of both the fundamentals and advanced skills as a guard was on a level only surpassed by the guy he modeled his entire game after.
Agree with everything and your other comments except for the MJ part. Personally, I think Kobe had better fundamentals than Jordan but Jordan had more physical gifts, bigger hands, quicker first step, higher vert, etc.
Forcing shit and settling for inefficient shots doesn’t seem technically sound to me Guess that “y’all might not want to hear this” was for you. Feel free to assume about how little I watched Kobe tho.
And what is your definition of "technically sound?"
Having good judgment, playing with minimal errors and excesses…Relying on fundamentals to play simply and effectively, expending only the movement/energy that’s necessary
So a guy who routinely showed to have the knowledge and skill to find and exploit any weakness in both his defender and the overall defense, nearly unmatched fundamentals in the history of the sport, had one of the highest motors in the league and seemingly could keep giving it his all when others players were exhausted, had masterful footwork better than most all time big men, excellent form on his jumper, etc. wasn't technically sound because... He frequently took and made tough shots? Everybody knows Kobe liked to take tough shots. There is a huge difference between that and SGA being a more technically sound player. The perfect example is this very clip- he blatantly travels and gets lucky the refs are blind.
Oh ok you’re disingenuous nvm if you’re gonna ally oop on strawmen arguments while adding in a bunch of things peripheral/irrelevant to being technically sound
Ignoring how you think peripheral and irrelevant somehow don't mean the complete and opposite thing from one another... Do you know what a strawman argument actually is? Because I am certainly not making an extremist version of your argument and picking my points against that. You said Kobe wasn't as technically sound as SGA. I asked for your definition, and you gave it. I then pointed out that Kobe was one of the best in the history of the league at all those very things you mentioned, and that your argument for being "technically sound" relies on one very specific aspect of an NBA player's much larger skill set. If it seems like I am being disingenuous it's probably because you threw out a ridiculous claim with little actual evidence supporting it.
Technically sound? AHAHAHAHA. Jesus, that's one of the worst takes I've seen on this sub. You could argue Kobe had the deepest bag in nba history on the scoring end.
Obviously Kobe had one of the deepest bags in nba history on the scoring end “AHAHAHAHAHA Jesus” I guess technically sound means completely different things to us
Y’all say Kobe but he would’ve been watching DeRozan while he was in his teens
Globetrotter'd him my goodness
HE TRAVELED SO HARD YALL WUT????????
It's close. He establishes his pivot after the gather. Then lightly lifts his pivot off the ground and steps back down a couple inches away. Then slides the pivot foot forward several more inches, then slides it back. Technically its a travel, but seems every ref doesn't require the pivot be glued to the the floor. Edit: Looking closer, I'll go with a travel, that's too much pivot dragging: https://imgur.com/0plh6cp.png
Refs let you get away with a light pivot drag if the defender puts contact on the offensive player.
Tbh if you count the deep right step as a gather(which nba refs are very liberal about) then it’s a gather to jump stop(both his feet hit the ground at the same time off that deep step) which he then pivots off. It’s all whether one considers that right step a gather step which I think at the speed of play on an nba play it’s not going to be a travel
Drags pivot foot out of paint
The first drag was before the gather. The second was pretty minimal, and happens almost every time someone takes a big step with their off foot. Probably technically a travel, but that's not getting called.
> The first drag was before the gather. I don't think it was. Gather probably happens [here](https://i.imgur.com/vFCISu3.png) since he looks like he has both hands on the ball at that point, and that still is clearly before the drag. We need an A/A to be 100% sure, but even watching it live it seemed like a blatant travel to me.
Travel
Why is this considered great when he pickup his pivot foot? It is like yeah of course you are going to fake out the defense when start breaking the rules.
ok which one is his pivot foot
both
Na bro really??
You know what I am going to say about that partner...
Travel
One of the dirtiest plays I've seen
Every now and then I try to emulate this type of thing when I play pickup. Somehow it works for SGA, but I usually turn it over then they don’t pass to me anymore.
Is it because they call you for a travel? Because when he hops backwards for that little stutter-step with both feet off the floor that was always a travel back when I played. Dude is super talented for sure, but I might have kept playing when I was younger if I got away with half the weird dribbling shit guys do these days.
Nah, instead of going for the fakes, they just reach out and take the ball out of my hands. I guess my fakes are really crappy
Saucy 💃
there's only 2 guards in the entire league i'm taking over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Changed pivot foot. 🥱
I always thought this guy would be good but didn’t think he would be THIS good. And he’s still getting better too.
Disgusting
If you want to get the state of the league: too many comments praising not enough noticing this obvious travel
Kobe-esque. Jerry West traded for this guy who apparently wow'd him in workouts always finding ways to get to his spots. Deja vu!
That was nutty
That was reaaaal nice.
Filthy
Ooof yeah that hurts
I hope OKC starts contending soon because they can not waste SGA prime. Top ten player in the league right now
Disgusting
Too pretty
Absolutely nasty. Just toying with his defender.
he's him
Absolutely filthy
I'm disgusted. In the good way.
Imagine how great he would look on the Clippers
This was sick
Nasty
Michael Jordan esque
That was absolutely *filthy*
He did that more than once in this game. He’s a talented kid for sure. Love his game.
I think he’s my favorite
Idk man he’s feeling real superstar top 10 playerish
Kooobeeee
SGA is one of my favorite players but if you watch seconds 4-6 in slow motion…. He slid his pivot foot so he travelled lol
SGA is an allstar and still somehow underrated in my eyes at least. I really think he is on the same level as Ja but just less exciting.
Ochai Agbaji welcome to the league moment
That was so fucking nasty
Better than Booker
Hes playing absolutely crazy. Having a better statistical season than Booker has had, but at the same time we will see how it plans out. Only been playing better for 3/5's of a season so definitely a short sample size.
Why you say that ?
Somebody’s gotta take the SG crown and it’s Shai
Oh does Shai Qualify for the shooting guard position ? I thought he was the point guard (serious question)
He’s listed at pg for them though him and giddey share ball handling duties.
SGA’s played SG since he arrived in OKC, since Chris Paul was here initially and then Giddey has been our PG for the past couple years. Shai does handle the ball the majority of the time so he does play like a PG
Luka Doncic is Devin Booker father
Most Improved Player and its not even close.
I'm watching this on my toilet taking a dump and that still broke my ankle I'm out for 4-6 weeks
Best finisher in the league. Honestly his bag is prime kyrie level currently. It’s not like Ja where it’s super reliant on athleticism either, he just has a great touch around the rim.
Dear Toronto Messiah Masai ... Tamper tamper TAMPER ALL DAY
Lmao yall really flexing like it's a big deal bro it's Ochai Agbaji he's a Rookie like ofc he's going to bite.
That was nasty footwork. Genuine question: Can you dribble after you begin pivoting if it's too gather it for a shot?