The most mythical players in today’s NBA
Dwight Howard with post moves
The year is 2008. Two phone booths stand on the NBA streets. The first booth is roughly 15 years old. The inside occupied by an aging man, who has become so bloated that he can no longer switch into his Superman outfit in a timely manner to save residents.
The second booth was constructed not too long ago. The man inside is what the first booth resident used to be. Young, fast, athletic, dominant. When trouble arises, he flies out of the booth faster than a speeding bullet.
A man by the name of Hakeem walks down the street. He opens the door to the first phone booth and greets his friend and former competitor. The two share stories of their battles in the 1995 Finals. Hakeem was the aging veteran at the time. He used fancy footwork and mean shoulder fakes to tame the overzealous youngster who only knew how to play at one speed.
Hakeem asks his friend what he thinks of the new hero on the block. The surly veteran answers with a bitterness that he doesn’t even try to hide. “He’s no Superman,” he retorts. Hakeem gives a nervous laugh. He hates seeing his friend like this. He wished his friend would close down his phone booth instead of embarrassing himself in this way.
After a lengthy chat, Hakeem bids his friend farewell for the time being. He shuffles over to the new phone booth and greets the city’s latest hero.
Hakeem spends hours talk to the young center, imparting every piece of knowledge he can on the man who could go down as the greatest post player of all-time.
“You can only rely on strength and athleticism for so long. The game is getting faster. The man in the booth beside you dominated because we all got older and slower. Now the same thing has happened to him. His strength is not what it used to be. Years of abuse in the post took its toll. I don’t want to see that happening to you. You’re physically overpowering everyone right now, but it will catch up with you faster than you can imagine. What you need is finesse to go long with physicality. I’m offering to teach you my ways. Work with me and I’ll show you the fine art of footwork and shoulder rolls.”
The young man looks up at his potential mentor and smiles.
“Dawg, you just see me drop 40 and 20 in 2K?”