I disagree to those who said "drawing fouls" To me fouls and FT's are the most boring parts of the game. It's like the in-between plays of an NFL game.
I love good boxouts, it's so key to rebounding. Dallas couldn't do it for **** and got dominated on the boards
The Philly factor or pretty much just toughness, hustle, heart, and a blue-collar work ethic to boot like what Lowry, Chuck, and Luis bring to the table. Another thing is refined post moves that involve spins, pump fakes, and great footwork. That may be why I enjoy watching the Dream and Scola so much.
The ability of a true point guard to control the pace and flow a game and keep putting his teammates in the right place to score.
WHAT!!! 4 Pages and no one talks about Tony Parker's game? Spoiler He got all the game LOL Rocket River
There's too many thing I like, I'd rather say the things I hate. Centers that are underneath the basket and can't score without an offensive foul. Centers that dont have any type of post move. Players that exclusively love to shoot 3's and suck at it Players that are afraid of contact or refuse to slash to the basket. Pg that dribbles too much or sets plays outside the 3pt line (rafer) Players that are always smiling with the opponents. Fans that hate players because they dont shoot 3s
Players who WORK on their game and continually improve are the ones I admire. Examples: Chuck Hayes with his free throws. Kyle Lowry's jump shot and 3 point %.
Payton won a championship with Miami in 2006. Indeed he was past him prime, but he hit two incredibly clutch shots in that series to help them win a couple of games. He left his mark.
First, good thread topic. Second...I think my answer is anything that makes the game psychological, either for crushing the other team's morale, or getting fans fired up (home or away) Examples: Barkley smiling to the crowd and waving his hands up at them after making a free throw in the Staples Center to mock them for screaming "Barkley Sucks." Dennis Rodman getting in other player's heads, not just to make a play but to mess with their confidence and you can see it later in games when those opposing players start to miss easy shots and free throws (See Vernon Maxwell and Gary Payton). Dream going into full Dream Shake tap dancing mode against other centers, as seen in the famous "What are you doing with my MVP trophy David?" game. Driving to the basket in general, whether it's a kamikazee style layup that's designed to draw contact (Iverson), a full flight dunk (Drexler, Jordan) or using your butt to back it in (Barkley) always seems to humiliate opposing players. Barkley seemed to delight in doing it really slow to scrubs like Keith Kloss and making fans boo. It was awesome. Clean blocks out of nowhere that make everyone in the room go quiet (Dream, Mutumbo, Dwight Howard). Then there are certain players that may not have one flashy attribute but have that certain blue-collar grit and hustle that gets fans excited (Scola, Hayes, Mario Ellie). But overall, if I'm really honest , I'd have say most of my favorite players were simply the ones that made Lakers fans upset. When I lived in LA and had the money to go, that was mostly Barkley (Suns or Rockets) and the unholy alliance of clutch shooters from Seattle in the 90's (who I hated at the time for being Rocket killers as well but in hindsight was glad I had the chance to see them torch the likes of Nick Van Excel).
