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Basketball is a game known for its flashy moves. These moves keeps the audience entertained and their opponents bamboozled. Kareem's sky-hook was an unstoppable force, helping him become the all-time leading scorer. No-one wanted to be in-front of Allen Iverson's iconic crossovers. Dirk's one-legged fadeaway, Jordan or Kobe's clutch shots, you couldn't go wrong with them.
We knew that Tim Duncan's bank shot would go in, the moment it touched the board. Magic Johnson's no-look had to be a part of the Showtime Lakers' gameplan. Hakeem Olajuwon's Dream shakes made the opposing center look silly, while Manu brought the Euro step and made it a must-have move for players everywhere.
The list can continue endlessly if we try to turn back time, finding all the iconic killer moves made by NBA legends. It was a part of the culture which made the fans want more - not only fun to watch but efficient too.
Current-day NBA also consists of stars who have unique signature moves. In this list, a compilation of such moves are made based not only on their entertainment factor, but equally the impact these moves have on the game.
Honourable mentions
Rajon Rondo's behind-the-back fake. It was an iconic move executed by Rondo, first seen during his spell with the Boston Celtics. The move confused defenders, forcing them to make a decision on whether to stop his run to the basket or step into the path of the incoming pass, more often than not failing in the process. It would have easily made the list in its heyday.
Chris Paul's spin move. A classic move made by the genius point-guard - when timed perfectly, no defender could stop Paul as he would easily blow by them, generally leading to a basket.
Russell Westbrook's powerful dunks. When Westbrook goes full throttle at the basket, few can stop him in his tracks, leading to a thunderous dunk and a surge of energy from himself, teammates and the adoring crowd watching on.
#5 Giannis Antetokounmpo's inhuman dunks
Giannis lives up to his nickname "The Greek Freak," because the feats he can perform are not at all human. Towering at 6'11 with a 7'3 wingspan, he can reach the rim from half-court within seconds or even a few large strides. It's an unstoppable move as defenders are unable to track quickly enough into their defensive positions, while Giannis is flying high to throw down a massive hammer.
Each Bucks game, you will see this superhuman performing impressive moves and it's not as though he's the only one across the association with that capability - LeBron and the aforementioned Westbrook both do it regularly, but are selective in their attempts. Giannis does it more consistently and naturally grabs more attention, so how can you forget him jumping over Tim Hardaway Jr last season?
#4 LeBron James' chase-down blocks
LeBron James is the world's best basketball player right now. Always mentioned in the GOAT conversation alongside Michael Jordan, it would be an injustice if we failed to include his chase-down blocks on this list. The man is an alien and you need to be if you're consistently on top of your game and have been over the past decade.
Now 33-years-old and showing no signs of slowing down, we have seen this man do many wonders on the court from shooting impossible fadeaways, precise no-look passes, thunderous dunks and crucially making clutch plays. However, the most eye-catching moment for all basketball fans has to be his chase-down blocks - the crowd rightly goes wild after he performs one. Remember his effort to deny Andre Iguodala in Game Seven of the NBA Finals two years ago?
#3 Kyrie Irving and his crossovers
Across the NBA, Kyrie Irving is the king of handles right now. His unique style and flair has made him one of the most entertaining players to watch across the league and given his superb ball control, he can easily put any defender on ice and blow past them with seeming ease. His crossover is deadly and has different variants, confusing players and breaking their ankles in the process - while also being a reliable finisher at the rim.
A deadly player, Kyrie is essentially unstoppable on isolation plays given his flashy moves and every night, you can expect him to weave his magic beyond someone to provide another highlight reel play.
There are many elite ball handlers in the NBA - Curry, Paul, Harden, Walker, Wall and many more. None of them can compare to Kyrie though, so be sure to be on the lookout for those killer crossovers with the Celtics this season.
#2 Steph Curry's deep threes
Stephen Curry is the man who has changed the game of basketball and how it is played today. The best shooter this game has ever seen, he's already a two-time MVP - one of which was unanimous. No-one took shots with such bravery and from various distances like him.
A casual pull up from 29 feet away was a nightmare shot, but Curry has made it a good shot to take in various situations in recent seasons. The man not only defied all gameplans, he even broke video games with his threes and just how far he can shoot from.
Every game he plays in, we can expect some three pointers to be shot from absolutely ridiculous distances from the basket. They literally named it "the Curry range", which shows that he has since inspired an entire generation of players to be more brave with the distances they shoot from - trusting their ability to hit from deep. Now, there's more of an expectance that players should work on their three-point shot, but no-one strikes fear or is more deadly than Chef Curry himself. Casually running down the court, to abruptly stop 30 feet out and pull up then splash? Signature move indeed.
#1 James Harden's step-back
You have to give kudos to the move which sparks debate on whether it's actually legal or not, because it's that deadly and unstoppable. While Curry's deep pull-ups kill his enemies in a flash, Harden slowly poisons his victim with his signature move. The tiring isolation with nimble dribble moves, finally ending with a perfectly-timed hop step back provides a shooter like Harden all the opportunity he would like to hit a three-pointer.
The move itself has frustrated many defenders and Harden's insistence on repetition mean he continues to do it - there's no real tactic or gameplan that can effectively defend against it. Once Harden gets into the isolation match-up he wants, it's game over with that nasty step-back. NBA ball-handlers have the step-backs in their arsenal, but James' is truly his signature move. The amount of space he creates with this trick is like no-one else. The defender knows it's coming, the crowd is aware too but The Beard is going to do it anyway.
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