Khabib Nurmagomedov, the undefeated UFC lightweight champion, is widely considered as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. As it turns out, however, he needs some fine-tuning in his basketball game.
Based on the clip below, he isn't exactly horrible, but he seems to have had too many pointers from Houston Rockets superstar James Harden.
Here's a couple of clips of Nurmagomedov hooping. You be the judge.
Even Khabib had hoop dreams 😂
(via @TeamKhabib) pic.twitter.com/hoNDN8Dh4b
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 24, 2020
Not a single dribble was taken.
To be fair, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Co. appeared to have been playing on rubber training mats in the first clip, so dribbling the basketball would have proven to be difficult. Maybe they were playing with no-dribble rules?
The second clip, on the other hand, is an altogether different question. It looked like a legitimate pickup game on an actual basketball court, and unless they were playing with unconventional rules, we're pretty sure the UFC fighter traveled prior to making that long-distance heave. It's just hilarious how no one had the audacity to complain about Khabib taking a few extra steps.
Clearly, no one wanted to be on his bad side.
In his defense, the UFC champ may have an unconventional shot, but he still finds the bottom of the net. Maybe he learned that from Harden, too.
For his part, the former Rockets MVP has long been criticized for taking a few extra steps–particularly in his step-back jumpers. However, there's also no denying that Harden is one of the greatest scorers in the history of the sport.
Nurmagomedov will be back in the Octagon on Saturday, as he takes on interim lightweight champ Justin Gaethje in UFC 254's unification bout.
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