NBA: Top 5 Ankle Breaking Crossovers of All-Time
Changing directions and/or shuffling at a rapid pace is key in the game of Basketball.
Adept ball handlers in the league have mastered the art of switching hands and bursting through the driving lanes, leaving their defenders grasping thin air. It's one of those elite-level moves which can allow the player an open short jumper or a clear path to the basket.
Crossovers are referred to as 'Ankle-breakers' because the sudden change in direction causes the defender guarding the ballhandler to fall down. More than the ankles, it breaks the ego of the person on the receiving end of this exchange and is considered one of the most humiliating moves in modern-day basketball.
The oncoming slides contain the Top 5 crossovers all-time in my opinion. I have tried to make this compilation as wholesome as I possibly could but even 50 won't cut it when it comes to the number of quality crossovers pulled till date, let alone 5. Metaphorically, it has been like looking for five needles in a haystack worth of crossovers. I might have missed some(or many), deserving of being on the list, but in the end, it's just my opinion, you are free to share yours.
#5 Kyrie Irving - All-Star 2013 Rising Stars Challenge
If it tips off with Kyrie, you can only imagine what's in store for you in the coming slides.
With roughly 5:30 left on the clock and his team losing in a blowout, Irving decided to forget the score and put on a show for the fans. He lured Detroit Pistons guard Brandon Knight into an isolation play, and flooded him with a bizarre collection of cross and behind-the-back dribbling moves before rising for a stepback jumper. Knight tried to contest the shot but the ground slipped from underneath him, leading to the arena erupting in exhilaration at Kyrie's ball-handling prowess. He hit the shot as Knight hit the floor, and this play became the talking point of the All-star weekend.
Irving's team lost ie, Charles Barkley's Team Chuck beat Shaquille O'Neal's Team Shaq 165-135, but that was a non-issue on this night. Kyrie Irving, the 2012 Rising Stars Challenge MVP, dazzled once again on the game's biggest mini-stage, finishing with a team-high of 32 points.