[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 Have you ever played against someone if pick up basketball that you just couldn’t seem to figure out? Not because they were bigger, faster or more athletic than you but because they just seemed to score the ball in unconventional ways that you weren’t prepared for. There are usually at least one or 2 of these guys at every open gym or rec league and they exist even at the highest level. Guys who do things in an awkward way that doesn’t look like it would work but somehow it does.

Nikola jokic- probably the best “awkward” guy currently in the league jokic has slow feet and can barely jump over a phone book. Yet he can be virtually unguardable at times. He uses pump fakes, angles and positioning to get shots off over more athletic defenders and an extremely high iq to see plays develop 2 to 3 steps in advance.

Kyle Anderson- literally appears to play in slow motion yet somehow uses his length and creativity to beat defenders off the dribble and make plays. Creative finisher who finds ways to score without much leaping ability or much threat of an outside shot.

Thaddeus young- He’s a small ball pf who is effective despite not being able to really stretch the floor much from outside. Master at cutting and finding seems without the ball and awkward mid-range floaters.

Who else currently in the nba would you say fits this category?

 

 

 

 

[whiteflashParticipant]

 I’d put Ben Simmons at the top of that list. He’s obviously big and can handle, but I’d say he’s more crafty than athletic, and despite being a natural lefty he seems to prefer little righty flip shots at the last second that defenders haven’t been able to adjust to. He also does this with ZERO jump shot. He’s a hard guy to figure out.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 It’s PENNYMANIA in Memphis, so I guess that is on my mind, and I think Ben Simmons has that Penny Hardaway thing about just getting to WHEREVER he needs to on the court.  Oh yeah, he is a passing savant, too, who will ALSO out-rebound the other team’s forwards.

Ben Simmons has probably had one of the most unorthodox seasons in NBA history.  He is basically an abysmal non-3 point shooter — if this were 1983. NOW? Unheard of.  Boggles the mind. Not a great free throw shooter either, and even with all that, if you had to give the MVP award to somebody who was the, uh, MOST VALUABLE, umm PLAYER, in the, how do I say this, NBA, you go with Ben Simmons.  How many games did they win last year? What is BS doing so far during this stretch run? WHO IS the hottest sleeper team now who MIGHT actually get to the Finals?

Nikola Jokic is basically an Absurdist version of Marc Gasol.  A prototype power forward going forward, although no one realizes this yet.

That being said, all around, the NBA is being led by a young generation of really unorthodox guys: Giannis, Embiid, Ben Simmons, Jokic, maybe even Tatum, Porzingas, AD is one of the guys NOW and will be for a long time but he has some idiosyncracies too.  Rudy Gobert is a rim-runner/rim protection artist in the extreme.  

Can’t believe I almost forgot about Lonzo Ball.

So, yeah, it will be an interesting new era coming up. I can see more parity with regards to both the MVP race and the title chase.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Striver347Participant]

I’d hasten to add Rondae Hollis-Jefferson!

His unorthodoxy comes from his herky jerky movements and heads up plays. He’s also a rare collection of skills in a single player, speaking to his defensive skills and weird, though shockingly effective drives. I think he’s a consistent jump shot from being considered a threat.

 

Rajon Rondo is another obvious choice. Isn’t it weird how effective he is despite years of not being a competent shooter in an increasingly open-spacing oriented NBA?

 

 

 

 

[Lotto StudParticipant]

 Lou Williams – Not sure if anyone else notices his shot, but everytime he shoots a perimeter shot on the left side of the floor his entire body fades to the left with the release. Unorthodox, yes! But very effective.

Markelle Fultz – Not for the reason everyone think I will highlight. I’ve watched him play this year, and his change of direction in transition with the ball seems a bit off to me. It’s as if he cannot run the length of the court without running a football route.

 

[SmooveKRYPTParticipant]

James Harden

Manu Ginobili

Goran Dragic

Nick Young

Will Barton

Tyreke Evans

Khris Middleton

Ricky Rubio

Lonzo Ball

Dejounte Murray

Brook Lopez

 

 

 

 

[Lotto StudParticipant]

 Care to highlight a few things on your guys?

[JDB12Participant]

 I’ll agree with the Harden call, he uses about 6 extra steps without dribbling on his drives to the cup that defenders aren’t expecting since for anyone else it would be a travel. And if he misses the layup or dunk will get hacked by a phantom fouler more often than not to get some shots at the stripe! But in all seriousness, he’s one of the craftier guys. Watching him play he’s not as great an athlete as people think he is, it’s just his first step and step back that are so severe and quick to create the space he needs. I think of him athletically as the Barry Sanders of basketball. Sanders wasn’t fast, but his quickness and elusiveness is what created the space he needed to be great.

[ChoppyParticipant]

 I’d say Joe Ingles should be in this conversation. In the top 5 slowest and least athletic wing players in the league, he just gets it done. Crafty is a word someone used earlier and I think it fits Ingles down to the ground. Defensively he shouldn’t be able to stay in front of me, let alone genuine NBA wings, yet he does and does it well. His fundamentals and IQ are off the charts, just manages to make the right play. In a league full of athletes, he is the definition of unorthodox.  

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 While ingles is a very crafty and fundamentally sound player who makes the most out of his limited athletic abilities, I’d hesitate to call him unorthodox. When I’m talking about unorthodox, I’m thinking more about guys who do things in a way that wouldn’t necessarily be considered fundamentally sound or that a coach wouldn’t necessarily teach, but it is effective for them. Like a Shawn Marion for example. 

[ChoppyParticipant]

 If everyone in your team was athletic and you were the ground-bound player, you’d be considered unorthodox compared to everyone else. In a league where athleticism is valued above all else, it’s the unathletic who are unorthodox. That’s the position I was taking with suggesting Ingles.

[HeroescantdieParticipant]

 I don’t know in today’s nba right now, but before, I think Jamison is a little bit unorthodox, with his set shot and his array of midrange floaters and hooks and others, I don’t know why he avreged alot of points before, Shawn Marion could be here also because of his jumpshot

[whiteflashParticipant]

 Antawn Jamison is the poster child for unorthodox basketball. Everything he did looked like it didn’t belong, then you’d look at the box score and he’d have 35 on 60% from the floor. If I’m not mistaken he and Kobe are the only two dude’s in the modern era to drop back-to-back 50’s.

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 Surprised no one has mentioned Shaun Livingston yet. So I will. Seems like he would fit better in the 1980s than today’s nba with his playing style but finds a way to make it work. 

[whiteflashParticipant]

 Would you consider his game unorthodox? He’s definitely a throwback guy, but he doesn’t really do anything funky out there.

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 I would consider his game unorthodox for today’s nba. For one thing he doesn’t shoot 3s which is basically unheard of for a perimeter player in today’s game. Hes also not a guy that will really break you down off the dribble either, at least not in the traditional way. He’s basically a post up pg. Most of his drives are deliberate, with the intention of getting the defender in an unfavorable position to get off his mid-range shot. The release on his shot is also weird. Most guys shoot on the way up. He waits till he gets to the absolute top of his jump and almost shoots it on his way down. His length, combined with the fact that he can make those shots consistently from mid-range makes him very difficult to guard. 

[whiteflashParticipant]

 Fair enough. Think we’re basically saying the same thing just using different descriptions. I consider "unorthodox" to mean "unusual". Antawn Jamison, for example, would be unorthodox in any era. Livingston plays like he was transplanted from the early 90’s.

[dmo21Participant]

I am with you on this as most of people’s answers are not fitting my definition of unorthodox. Many people are going with guys who have different styles or are just unathletic. Unorthodox for me would be Noah shooting a jumpshot or Chuck Hayes shooting a free throw. Now that’s unorthodox.  

[whiteflashParticipant]

 Yeah, untraditional and unorthodox aren’t the same thing.

[Kwame33Participant]

R Draymond Green. Not that his style is unorthodox it’s just that his position and height kind of belie his impact.

[kobyzParticipant]

 kyrie, the way he makes the toughest shots like he more loves them than easier shots…

[Author]

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