Midway through the second quarter of Sunday's All-Star game, Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry caught a lead pass from Joel Embiid in transition. Rather than take a dribble and attack an awaiting Kevin Durant at the rim, the Golden State Warriors superstar caught the ball and immediately bounced it high off the ground with one hand, over the outstretched arms of the two-time reigning Finals MVP.
Instead of sailing out of bounds, though, the ball somehow found its way into the right hand of a fully-extended Giannis Antetokounmpo, who caught the ball while airborne and slammed it through the rim in one fell swoop.
It was an instant classic in an All-Star game full of them highlights, the type that will be played on a loop for years as the league promotes its annual mid-season exhibition.
That standing actually serves as an indicator of just how difficult it is to pull off the bounce pass alley oop, but don't tell that to Draymond Green.
After he tried a version of the same lob in practice earlier this week, Green narrowly avoided being cussed out by Warriors head coach Steve Kerr.
Draymond Green said he didn’t really go on social media during the break but did see the Steph-Giannis alley-oop:
“I tried that play in practice and Steve almost cussed me out.”
— Logan Murdock (@loganmmurdock) February 20, 2019
Close call.
Draymond Green is one of the league's best passers regardless of position, and Durant might be the only player in basketball with the requisite combination of length, leaping ability, and hand-eye coordination to duplicate Antetokounmpo's finish. Why not let the Warriors' stars have some fun in practice, then?
Under Steve Kerr, the Warriors have become known for a players-first approach that routinely eases the labors associated with chasing a championship on an annual basis. Recreating the Curry-Antetokounmpo alley-oop, however, is apparently a bridge too far for Golden State — even during Kerr's fun-filled practices.
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