There aren’t an awful lot of interesting stories to follow in the NBA in late February and early March. You have the playoff races heating up but still not yet at a fever pitch, and the race for the top lottery pick, which is maybe more interesting on a nightly basis than the playoff races right now.
Without trade rumors and the like to fill the day and take over the news cycle, one great play can remain the top story overnight and into the next day, dominating all NBA conversation. That’s what’s happened with James Harden and his now-famous crossover of Wesley Johnson that immediately went viral and caused a minor meltdown on basketball Twitter.
Fans weren’t the only ones that lost it over the play, as the move wowed stars around the league as well. LeBron James was asked about the move after Cavs practice on Thursday and, with a twinkle in his eye, he explained how that’s a move you dream about as a basketball player.
https://twitter.com/ballislife/status/969283377688924161
“That’s one of those moves sometimes you dream about having,” James said. “It was a perfect storm cause at that time they were pretty handily winning that game. They was up 28-7 … at that point and he hits that stepback, one of his patented moves. The crowd went crazy. His team went crazy and that’s a play that will be in his highlight reel for the rest of his life.”
There are few things better than crossing up an opponent as a basketball player and causing the other player to get twisted up and fall to the floor may not be topped by anything. You can tell James is a little jealous that he’s never gotten quite that result on the NBA court from a crossover, but he’s had his fair share of highlight moments that have shown his dominance over an opponent, usually in the form of a posterizing dunk or block.
The Harden crossover may end up being the play of the year in the NBA, and the image of Harden standing at the three-point line while Johnson picks himself up has become iconic. The great Mina Kimes of ESPN, who also happens to be a freakishly good Etch-a-Sketch artist, paid tribute to the move with this incredible work.
