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James Harden is a basketball weapon. His perfected step-back three is a glitch in the NBA game, and many consider the move a traveling violation. James Harden's utilization of step-backs in an era where three-point shots are grand is an embarrassment of basketball scoring riches for a very unique volume scorer.
His career point total will rise as the threes drop, and James Harden could challenge the top ten scoring list in a very short time compared to his peers because of the step-back three. With that being said, his go-to move has to be considered one of the greatest in NBA history, correct? Here's why.
The origin of the step-back jumper
Was the creator Larry Bird or Kiki VanDeweghe? Michael Jordan made it one of his staples, and since the late great Kobe Bryant shadowed Michael's game, it was in his arsenal as well. Dirk is in the Hall of Fame because of his step-back.
Now it's Luca Doncic's shot, Damian Lilliard's shot, Jayson Tatum's go-to, and yet another bullet in the sharp shooting clip of Steph Curry.
Joel Embiid even does it, yet as great as all these players have been, the NBA has evolved into a three-point competition every night, and no one, possibly ever, has perfected the step-back three as well as James Harden.
The NBA now steps back as James Harden then stepped back
The Kiki move, as legendary coach Pete Newell gave the step-back VanDeweghe's name, became a fixture in the NBA once James Harden saw he could get away with it. He averaged 45 points for the month of January in 2019.
The shot is highly effective, yet I can't imagine what youth league coaches are telling the parents of the kids after a frustrating practice of step-back air balls and back board bangers. Keep shooting kids, for James Harden is a winner.
#3 James Harden perfection of the shot is perfect timing
The NBA is all about the three-point shot currently, and given that James Harden has come into his own as a legendary NBA scorer, could he have become such a scorer without the step-back three?
Teams have to respect his ability to get to the rim, with defenders flailing like birds in the wind trying to defend an unstoppable shot. What gives? The scoreboard gives, and in the last five years, James Harden's version of the step-back three is the game's best weapon.
#2 Trendsetter
The next time you walk or drive by a basketball court, count how many step-back threes are taken outside on the asphalt. The game has totally evolved, and to see all the kids shooting step backs is interesting.
Fast forward ten years and what will the game resemble post this step-back era? Steph Curry gets much of the credit for changing how the NBA views the three-point shot, yet it is James Harden who will be noted for giving the game his signature step-back.
#1 What other signature shots were this effective?
Besides Dirk's one-legged step-back, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's unblockable sky hook, Julius Erving's fingerroll, Spencer Haywood's turnaround jumper, Hakeem Olajuwon's Dream Shake, Manu Ginobili's Eurostep, and the equally effective crossovers of Allen Iverson and Tim Hardaway - what other signature moves can you name?
At age 32 and still in his prime, James Harden, along with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets, will conjure images of the aforementioned Kiki VanDeweghe, Alex English and Dan Issel bombing away after catching passes from Fat Lever. Those 80's teams were exciting for the league, and so will the Brooklyn Nets be this season.
Whether it starts with a Kevin Durant dagger or a Kyrie Irving left-hand runner in the lane, if the Brooklyn Nets are to win the NBA championship, it will have to end with James Harden's step-back three.
The June confetti rain awaits.
