The NBA's best Signature Moves

Stockton's back dribble and Marbury's hop stop are among the NBA's 
best Signature Moves
By Brad Greenberg

Brad Greenberg brings 22 years of successful NBA and NCAA management 
and coaching experience to NBA.com as our player personnel expert. 

Attaching an athletes name as an identifying label to a technique 
happens in sports like figure skating, gymnastics and even track and 
field. The "Fosbury Flop" revolutionized the sport of high jumping 
and is the adopted technique of all world-class jumpers. One of the 
greatest compliments a basketball player can receive is to 
popularize a move to a degree that the technique of the move is 
eventually taught and recognized by the name of that pioneering 
player. 

The "spin" dribble was popularized and later referred to as "The 
Pearl Move" in honor of Earl "The Pearl" Monroe. Jimmy Walker 
utilized and popularized the "through the leg dribble" that was 
initially taught by many coaches as "The Walker Dribble." Artis 
Gilmore regularly stationed himself on the right block and would 
move his man to the middle with a slide dribble to set up an "up and 
under" pivot move that is still taught by many low post clinicians 
as "The Artis Move." The same applies to big men learning the art of 
receiving the ball with their back to the basket and utilizing a 
technique known as an "inside pivot" to face the basket against 
their defender which was perfected by Jack Sikma , often described 
as "The Sikma Move." 

In every generation a group of select players create or refine moves 
that in certain circles bears the label of it's inventor to a new 
group of developing players. We already see youngsters on 
playgrounds working on their "Iverson crossover" and "Kobe stutter 
move" for the pull-up jumper. Here's some current players who have 
developed signature nuances or moves that are recognizable and in 
many cases now being taught by coaches across the globe. 


John Stockton -- Back dribble
Having engineered more successful pick and rolls than hamburgers 
sold by that chain with the arches requires technique reflecting 
unique insight and understanding of how defenses attempt to disrupt. 
Numerous tactics are employed to defend one of basketball's oldest 
concepts. John Stockton, the leading assist man in NBA history and 
one half of the all- time pick-and-roll tandem in NBA history has 
made popular the "back dribble" to counter a popular defensive 
strategy designed to short circuit this two man play. The "blitz" or 
hard trap employed to disrupt a sideline pick necessitated the 
creation and popularization of the "back dribble" to stretch the 
defense, release pressure and create better passing and driving 
angles. 

Watch the Jazz execute the pick and roll and you will see Stockton 
dribble away from the hoop while still facing it with total court 
vision. Watch the defense hesitate and freeze as he distorts their 
rotation. Watch his defender move toward Stockton and than watch 
John instinctively attack to torture the defender now caught, unable 
to contain a player with a mastery of a move that has now permeated 
every savvy coach's practice plan. The "back dribble" enables a 
player to respond to a double team or intense one-on-one pressure 
without turning his back or losing sight of potential receivers. 


Glenn Robinson -- 17-foot jumper off the "freeze hitch"
Glenn Robinson has been scoring huge since he entered the NBA as the 
No. 1 pick in the 1994 draft. Now in his seventh NBA season he has 
averaged 21 points per game in his career with career percentages of 
over 46 percent from the field, 35 percent from three point land and 
over 80 percent from the charity stripe. While he has evolved into a 
strong all-around player, currently among the top 15 scorers in the 
league while enjoying a career year in rebounding, assists and 
blocks, it is his scoring and especially his shooting ability that 
energizes Buck fans more than Bango the Milwaukee mascot shooting 
rolled up tee shirts from a power slingshot. Glenn Robinson is the 
BEST 17-foot jump shooter in the NBA! We have come to expect every 
open medium-range look he has go in. But it is his uncanny ability 
to freeze his defender with a signature "hitch" that separates him 
in his efforts to create room for his ultra-quick yet smooth release. 

Steve Smith -- Hesitation dribble going left
Every scouting report on Steve Smith since his early days at 
Michigan State has included the warning: "loves to go left and will 
try to freeze defenders with a hesitation stop- and-go dribble move 
as he heads toward the baseline from the left wing." Regardless, it 
is still working as his signature move to create scoring 
opportunities. Smith's ability to hit long-range shots forces 
defenders to play him out on the floor and his skill level with the 
ball enables him to move defenders and penetrate for higher 
percentage shots. 

All talented scorers have the ability to move a player off the 
dribble to create a shot. The really talented ones have not only 
change of direction dribble moves but also understand the importance 
of changing speeds as well. Steve Smith has one of the best change 
of pace moves in the league. Despite sophisticated scouting that 
details player tendencies his "act" with this signature move is so 
good that is serves as proof of the coaching adage that: it is not 
necessarily what you do, but how well you do what you do! 


Stephon Marbury -- Hop Stop power drive
Undeniably one of the strongest point guards in the game, Stephon 
has the "city game" down with an arsenal of dribble moves and 
one-on-one instincts highlighted by his signature hop-and-stop power 
drive in the paint. Strong enough to take a hit and bust through the 
contact for strong three-point plays the old fashioned way, Marbury 
has three-point range, outstanding physical attributes and is a 
fierce competitor. His courageous forays into the paint sometimes 
defy logic but his technique to come to a hop- stop landing, 
balanced on two feet and power jump into the air enable him to use 
his strength, jumping abilty and body control to make spectacular 
shots at the rim over bigger defenders helping out. 


Arvydas Sabonis -- Around the back post pass / rolling hook shot / 
bowling ball outlet pass / tap rebound
While VP of Player Personnel for the Portland Trail Blazers I had 
the good fortune to study Arvidas Sabonis playing for Real Madrid 
and Valladolid, two basketball clubs in Spain, while awaiting his 
eventual decision to migrate to the NBA late in his career. Foot 
injuries prevented him from displaying his talents to NBA audiences 
while in his prime, yet he still displays a number of signature 
moves that surely warm the heart of big-man gurus all over the 
globe. Some were born out of necessity and some displayed a flair 
reserved for special players only. 

Still evident is his extraordinary feel for passing out of the post.
Not the first to throw an around the back pass (Wilt Chamberlain 
once led the league in assists and often hit cutters out of the post 
with this Globetrotter-esque delivery) Arvydas is the only NBA 
center capable of making this play on a regular basis and still wows 
crowds with this creative feed. While many low- post players use a 
jump hook as part of their scoring arsenal, none shoot the 
fundamental hook quite like the native Lithuanian. The deliberate 
step across the defender to protect the ball and the long armed 
delivery is still executed to produce a soft shot pleasing to all 
purists. 

His passing skills are not limited to low-post feeds. Adept at 
throwing a long baseball-style outlet he is the only player I have 
ever seen throw an underhanded, bowling ball motion, outlet pass 
that travels a frozen rope path of up to 40 feet to a teammate 
filling a lane. And while painful foot injuries have limited his 
mobility and jumping ability he has out of necessity developed the 
unique skill of instinctively tapping out a rebound to teammates on 
loose balls off the rim or glass when unable to gather them in with 
two hands. 

See if you can spot these moves the next time you watch these 
players in action and keep an eye out for future innovations from 
emerging players. Who will be the next group of players to claim 
ownership of signature moves? Time will tell!