HANDLE IT (The NBAs best dribblers)

Throughout the history of professional sports, there has always been s a signature style of play or tenor that defines that particular era.

Baseball, for example, was dominated in the ‘60s by pitching (Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, etc).  By the late 90s, it was all about the homers.  Greg Maddux afterall did say “Chicks dig the long ball.”

The NFL was once a defensive, vertically-challenged, “3 yards and a cloud of dust” running league until contemporary times led to a bevy of NFL passing records to fall by the wayside.

Now in the NBA, more than any other sport, the players (not schemes or coaches) dictate the style of play.  In the 90’s we withe golden age of Shooting Guards (MJ, Joe Dumars, Clyde Drexler, Mitch Richmond, Reggie Miller, Ron Harper, etc), Point Guards  (Magic, Isiah Thomas, John Stockton, Mark Price, Tim Hardaway) and Centers (Shaq, Hakeem, The Admiral, Pat Ewing, Brad Daugherty).

The 2000s were pretty much owned by the Power Forwards (Tim Duncan, Karl Malone, Chris Webber, Kevin Garnett, Antonio Mc Dyess, Dirk Nowitzki) and now in 2014, it appears that Small Forwards (Lebron, Kevin Durant, Paul George, Carmelo) and Point Guards (Kyrie Irving, CP3, Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, John Wall, Westbrook, Derrick Rose) are running the league.

This wave of point guards is extremely gifted and addictive to watch.  They possess never before seen athleticism (Russ-Rose-Wall), jump-shooting ability (Steph, Lillard, Kyrie) and maybe the most important quality that separates them from other positions: exceptional ball-handling capabilities.

Out of the aforementioned point guards, I depict Irving, Curry, CP3 , John Wall and Jamal Crawford as THEE best dribblers in the league.  While they all showcase amazing talent with the things they can do with the ball, their styles are all different.  If I had a chance to choose which set of handles to infuse in my game, it would be between Kyrie and Steph.  How about you?

MANY STYLES, MANY STYLES!!!!!

CP3: Steadiness; seldom turnovers (ripped, ball falling off foot)… can revert to a flashy “yo yo” when needed but always keeps the dribble.

Crawford:  ultimate yo-yo….can lull you asleep or hit you with the rapid behind the back cross.

Kyrie:  MASTER of the “hezo’s” (hesitation dribble---don’t sleep on Melo’s hezo’s either)…smooth, natural crossovers…. ambidextrous handles, subtle gestures (eye brows, shoulders, picking up hand). Even when he falters, you appreciate it.

Watching K.I. do his thing reminds me of a John Coltrane or Miles Davis jazz impromptu session….

Steph:  similar to kyrie but just technically more proficient, according to the eye ball test.  If Kyrie’s handle is of the Jazz variety-impromptu, reactive and natural-then Steph is the classically trained Mozart.  Every move looks natural from a calculated standpoint, meaning everything he does, he practiced for it 100’s of times and anticipates it…Not fond of the musical analogy? Ok, Steph is like an actor performing on Broadway w/ out slurs or stumbling over words, or re takes.

John Wall:  Is able to do what these point guards, to an extent but the boy does it with lightning speed.

HONORABLE MENTION:

*Jeff Teague                         *D Rose

* Brandon Jennings              *D Will

* Damian Lillard                    *Isiah Thomas

* Ty Lawson