Kyrie Irving has quickly grown on me as a player, and it’s all because of his sick moves.
The Cleveland Cavaliers point guard put on an absolute show over NBA All-Star Weekend last season, winning the 3-point competition and then embarrassing Brandon Knight in the Rising Stars Challenge. He won Rookie of the Year after being the first pick in the draft, and then he became an all-star in his second season. Oh, and did I mention that he has sick moves?
Irving busted out the incredibly difficult, always awesome God Shammgod move at Jamal Crawford’s Summer Pro Am basketball league in Seattle. The video above shows two of Irving’s best highlights, with the Shammgod coming second. The move happens so quickly, you have to watch carefully otherwise you’ll miss it. It’s like he has the ball on a yo-yo.
This is not the first time Irving has successfully pulled off the second-prettiest move in basketball (Hakeem’s Dream Shake is first). He actually did it in a game against the Boston Celtics in January. Watch him embarrass Brandon Bass:
The move is named after former Providence basketball player God Shammgod, who popularized the whip move by using it during college:
Though he was not the first player to use the move, he was the first one to use it on a big stage, and he was the first person most fans saw do it. That’s why the move was named after him.
Shammgod spent two seasons at Providence and left after teaming with Austin Croshere to lead the Friars to the Elite Eight in 1997. He was drafted by the Washington Wizards in ’97, spent two seasons with them, and then played most of his career overseas.
When I say that I could watch highlights like this all day, I’m not lying. My old college roommate and I used to dig up these clips and watch the Shammgod all day long.
H/T Nate Jones
