NBA Trick Stars!!

Unarguably Stephen Curry is the best Point Guard today, but before Curry’s era, Chris Paul was the best Point Guard in the league.  Interestingly even though Chris Paul is older and experienced, he likes to imitate what Curry does.  May 24, 2018 after Paul sinks his 3 pointer over Curry, he shook his shoulders like how Curry does.

December 9, 2019, Paul made fake pass on Rudy Gobert like one Curry did to Martin Gortat.

They look so similar, and it seems like Paul imitated Curry’s play.

By the way, those plays are really tricky and difficult to predict.  So who can do this kind of trick plays?  Here is the top 5 trick stars in NBA history.

No.5 Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd was one of the best leaders in NBA and he was really dedicated to the team play.  At same era, Steve Nash won MVP twice, and they were compared to each other.  But it seems like Kidd had better fit with teammates.  Kidd was old school PG which is pass first and not keeping the ball for long time.  And because he had lots of athletic teammates such as Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson, Kenyon Martin, Shawn Marion, he was able to have lots of fast breaks and alley-oops which he can show his passing skill.

No.4 Rajon Rondo

Rondo is still actively playing in NBA.  Since he joined Lakers, he comes off from bench, but he still putting 5 assists per game.  His signature move “behind the back pass fake” is very effective.  He is not a scorer and many people doubt that he is scared to shoot, and he is a good passer, so when he brings ball behind his back, everyone thinks he would pass.  This makes him a great trick star.

No.3 Bob Cousy

Bob Cousy is NBA’s very first stylish player.  He dribbles well and passes well.  During his time most of the teams were playing like college basketball, but his team were playing like AND1.  His passes are not as refined as PG after him, but he is the very first player who made si much trick plays and entertainment in NBA.

No.2 Jason Williams.

He is an NBA player who played like on street court.  He was not the best shooter or scorer in the team, but he was the star in the team.  It is so hard to tell where and when he was going to pass.  Since he had great handle, he was able to go inside and layup.  Actually it wasn’t so difficult to guess he would pass or shoot.  But it was so hard to guess which teammte he would pass to.

No.1 Magic Johnson

I think this is something you cannot argue with.  He was super tricky with his shoot and pass.  There were many time that camera could not follow the ball because simply it disappers.  When he keeps ball camera should not zoom in because they lose the ball.  Magic was able to pass without looking at his teammates.  It seemed like he had eyes around his head.  It was not overrating to say “MAGIC” at all.

Who is your trick star?  Please comment!!