Tag: God Shammgod

It’s mystical, the Shammgod dribble. In one moment the ballhandler is moving with comforting familiarity, crossing over like millions have before. In another, the ball has seemingly teleported, as if controlled through supernatural ability, but instead with the utmost precision dictated from the player in control. Now you see it, now you don’t. It’s a moment that jolts anyone watching to attention. The 100th time you see it is no less thrilling than the first. It’s named after God Shammgod, the legendary Brooklyn dribbler whose cultural impact on the sport reaches far beyond this single trick of the basketball. He’s long been credited with both its creation and popularization. The second, undisputedly, is true. But what if you were told of a debate between two East Coast cities about the dribble’s birth? What if you learned another hooper shares a claim to the move’s history, one whose role in its genesis has rarely been talked about over the decades?

Like Shammgod, Allen now spends his time molding the next generation of NBA players, passing along his gift. He has worked with a number of top guards, including Rozier, Irving and Isaiah Thomas. According to Rozier, Allen has a unique way of comparing dribbling to boxing. The description made perfect sense to Rozier, who boxes a lot during the summer. “So basically like, if you were coming up in transition and you like the pull-up 3, and you put it between your legs one time before you shoot the pull-up 3, that’s basically like giving somebody one jab,” Rozier explained. “Now if they adjust, now you come down the court and put it between your legs one time, they think you’re going to shoot and you just go into a hesitation. That’s giving somebody a counter because they reacted to that jab. So it’s basically just reading and reacting, the same thing you would do when you’re putting all that work into boxing. It’s the same stuff. Just reading and reacting to the defenders. Giving them counters.”