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LeBron's dunk shows the NBA is travelling in the wrong direction

5th March, 2015
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Cleveland Cavaliers former superstar LeBron James. (Source: Wiki Commons)
Roar Guru
5th March, 2015
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1010 Reads

The Cleveland Cavaliers have inflicted more pain on the struggling Boston Celtics, with a 110-79 win in Wednesday’s game at Quicken Loans Arena in front of a crowd in excess of 20,000.

Cleveland were able to dominate proceedings in front of their home crowd off the back of another strong performance from ‘The King’ LeBron James, featuring a questionable highlight play.

Late in the second quarter, James capitalised on a loose Isaiah Thomas dribble, and tore away down court with only the covering Avery Bradley to contend with.

As Bradley came across, LeBron incredibly moved the ball behind his back to elude the defender and finished with the easiest of dunks.

However, after viewing this specific highlight, many would say James travelled.

Travelling has become more regular within the league lately, with many players implementing a third step following the gathering of their dribble, as seen in the above footage.

When James picked up his dribble and proceeded to move the basketball around his back, he took one step in the process of moving the ball behind his back to move around the incoming Bradley, followed by a second step with his left-foot. LeBron’s third step came before he rose to the top of the rim to finish the highlight play.

According to the NBA rulebook, “A player who receives the ball while moving is allowed a two-count rhythm but must release the ball prior to the third step touching the floor. When ending his dribble a player may use a two count rhythm in coming to a stop, passing or shooting.”

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In James’ case, he gathered the ball prior to taking his first step, then continued to take another two. The movement as a whole went unnoticed by the officials. This play is the latest in a string of travelling violations not picked up by referees.

Lou Amundson was another who somehow got away with this travelling gem against the Cavaliers last month.

Does the travelling rule even exist currently in the NBA? If so, then why is it no longer properly enforced? A travelling violation is committed almost every game at present, with some players taking more than three steps.

One reason behind the lack of enforcement can be linked to the focus of American sport on commercialisation and entertainment. If LeBron was called for travelling on his amazing behind-the-back manoeuvre, there would be no highlight play to upload onto the NBA’s website or YouTube channel.

Additionally, LeBron is the biggest and most identifiable talent in the NBA today, and so it’s likely that more people will become interested and continue watching the sport if the best player in the league made a play like that.

The rule needs to be clarified. The game of basketball is becoming quicker every season and with the new ‘Euro-step’ being used by players, it’s becoming more and more difficult to distinguish between a gathering of the basketball plus two steps, and an evident travel.

However, whether it’s James or Amundson, the Cavaliers or the Knicks, there is no excuse for not imposing a rule written in the NBA handbook.

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