James Harden shows off new one-legged three-point shot in exhibition game
James Harden spent all summer talking about a new one-legged step-back three he had been working on. On Monday, the world finally got to see it in all its glory.
The Houston Rockets star displayed the new move in an exhibition game against the Chinese Basketball Association’s Shanghai Sharks, and it was almost exactly as advertised.
The new James Harden shot, what do you think?pic.twitter.com/AFeI9FaLtG
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 1, 2019
Harden obviously didn’t make the off-balanced shot, but he gets easy separation from defender Luo Xudong. Despite a summer to work on the shot, the reigning NBA scoring champ appears to have some work cut out for him. Fortunately he has more time with the regular season kicking off on Oct. 22.
Despite the clanked three, Harden had a strong game overall, picking up a triple-double by the end of the first half. He scored 10 points on 2-of-5 shooting beyond the arc and added 17 assists and 12 rebounds.
Is Harden’s new move a travel?
Harden’s new shot is worth a few laughs — and hopefully a good nickname — but the real question is whether it will even be counted as legal.
The NBA Board of Governors updated the language for traveling violations in September to clarify what a gather is and how many steps a player can take after it. This was seen as done in response to Harden’s creative array of moves, so referees will keep a close watch on him as we near the regular season.
In July, Harden said that his new move would look like a travel but that he believes it it isn't. With updated rules and so many moving parts, it’s too hard to tell if it’s legal or not; seemingly only time will tell with how the league handles it.
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