James Harden's Step-back 3 Is The Most Important Move in NBA

Harden is ruining the NBA. We have to allow Klay and Draymond to jump under his feet to steal Game 1.

 

Hopefully he can hit it at a high % in the playoffs this year

 

I used to shrug off comparisons between Harden's step back and Kareem's sky hook. Kareem's sky hook has been the most unstoppable shot that I've ever seen. His release point was so high that I often thought that it just wasn't fair.

Harden's step back is now in that category IMHO. No disrespect to Jordan's fadeaway. The degree of difficulty and the distance or range on these shots are what sets them apart for me. Dream did a variety of moves off of his shake that were all money, but the shake itself wasn't an actual shot. The shake to the baseline fadeaway was nasty but I honestly can't put that ahead of Harden's step back again because of the distance.

Kareem was close to 7'2 with a 7'5 wingspan. Young Kareem also jumped pretty high off of one leg. His release point along with his deadly accuracy are what sets that shot apart from the rest. He could also make them from anywhere on the court. Free throw line area, deep corners, top of the key, it didn't matter. He would just make them in everyone's face.

James has the same traits with his step back. His combination of elite space creating and his 6"11 wingspan make his release point just too high for defenders to get a hand on(in most cases). He too can make them from any area above the 3 point line. He too can make his signature shot in seemingly anyone's face.When you add the distance and the accuracy to the degree of difficulty from quality contests on many occasions I don't think there is any doubt that Kareem's sky hook and Harden's step back are in a league of their own. You can contest them to the best of your ability but in the end you just have to hope that they miss.

James is still getting better at his step back which is scary. It wouldn't shock me if James shot closer to 38-39 percent on step back 3's this year. He looks that locked in. If he does that, then maybe a day will come when everyone considers Harden's step back to be at least on par if not better than Kareem's sky hook.

 

NBA.com had him at 30/70 on step back 3s in last years playoffs.

42.9%

63.9% eFG on those step back attempts

16/17 playoffs
9/23

17/18 playoffs
26/81

 

Well Kirk Goldsberry has always loved Harden even before he left ESPN to work at the Spurs.

 

Fans & Media love good shooting.

Fans & Media love Curry's 3pt shots.
Fans & Media don't love Harden's step back 3pt shots......because Harden.

Sometimes it is just that ridiculously blatant.