The NBA HORSE Challenge came to a close on Thursday as Mike Conley of the Utah Jazz took all contestants by surprise and snatched away the title of NBA HORSE champion.
While the broadcast of this competition had its share of problems, these contestants showed a few tricks up their sleeves. Let's hand out some grades.
Semifinal #1: Mike Conley (HO) beats Chauncey Billups: B+
Conley went to his bag of tricks for this one, unleashing a series of high-difficulty shots, including a spin-off-one-leg shot (which Billups matched) and an underhand free throw to take it home:
using that offhand #TeamMike | @espn pic.twitter.com/jRSeYK9FJ2
ā Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 17, 2020
This over-the-back, off-the-glass peach was a quick letter for Billups, who likely hasn't tried these shots in years:
š Mike Conley wins ESPN's NBA HORSE Challenge.
He defeated Tamika Catchings, Chauncey Billups and Zach LaVine to win the title.pic.twitter.com/omAMu9tNRw
ā Sports Plug (@SportsPlug_) April 17, 2020
Billups was the comeback king in the first round, knocking out Trae Young after being down three letters to none. Unfortunately for Mr. Big Shot, this would be too deep a hole to climb out of, but the NBA legend gets a C+ for a trying effort against a surprisingly good HORSE player.
Semifinal #2: Zach LaVine (HOR) beats Allie Quigley: B
LaVine played it smart here, just as he did with Paul Pierce in the first round. Quigley got ahead with a few sitting shots that challenged the Chicago Bulls guard, but the former dunk champion relied on his athleticism down the stretch to give him the edge over the WNBA star:
Off the backboard and between the legs š
With no dunks allowed, @ZachLaVine got creative on the layup to advance to the HORSE finals. pic.twitter.com/U3SYsdLsAY
ā ESPN (@espn) April 17, 2020
Some of these shots are flat-out unfair.
Quigley gets a B- here. The sharpshooter upset title favorite Chris Paul in the first round and brought enough to give LaVine a run for his money. The Chicago Sky marksman knew she had to win the coin toss to get off to a good lead, but missing her last three shots saw her get eliminated.
Final: Mike Conley (HO) beats Zach LaVine: A
Conley was able to withstand LaVine's trickery and made the most of his ambidexterity to put some letters on the Bulls star. Four of LaVine's five letters came on off-handed shots by Conley, who predominantly plays like a right-handed point guard for the exception of jumpers and free throws.
The Utah Jazz point guard used his patented behind-the-backboard layup as his coup de grĆ¢ceĀ for this competition, crowning himself the NBA HORSE Challenge champion:
Behind the backboard ftw!#TeamMike | @espn pic.twitter.com/U2Q4drwVWe
ā Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 17, 2020
Conley only earned five letters through all three rounds of this HORSE Challenge, getting only one letter against soon-to-be Hall of Famer Tamika Catchings and only two letters in each of the next two rounds. LaVine gets a B for trying his best, but he was ultimately outmatched by a savvier Conley.
The Jazz point guard proved that something as basic as having mastery of using both hands on the court can make him a threat, able to keep the right-handed LaVine on his toes throughout their game.
Conley was well-rounded, fundamental, and tricky, which proved the holy trinity that let the Jazz point man take this competition by storm.
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