Steph Curry Attempted James Harden's Stepback, Got Called For A Travel, Immediately Held Up A 13 To The Refs

I have two takes on this. One – I love the move out of Steph to immediately go over to the ref and be all, “Hey what the fuck man? Y’all let that guy in Houston do this shit 10 times a game. I have twice as many MVPs as that bearded fuck! Do you know who my dad is?” He’s not wrong. That is Harden’s move almost exactly. Especially when they show the replay in slow motion. Harden gets away with it multiple times a game and has for multiple years now. Everyone just accepts it like when Iverson broke into the League and started taking however many steps he wanted. Steph tried it exactly once and was called for a travel before he even shot the ball. Because as the great Eric Matthews once said, “Life’s tough. Get a helmet.”

My second take is: Steph attempting this made me realize just how smooth Harden’s stepback looks in comparison. Harden has that, “Kinda looks like a fat guy so no way he’s that quick my eyes must be deceiving me” body that Paul Pierce had during his playing days. Pierce’s first step on rip throughs always left defenders in the dust because they just didn’t expect a move that quick could come from someone built like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. That’s what Harden’s got working for him with his stepback. Meanwhile, Saladfingers Steph looked like he took five steps in real time. Maybe the most blatant travel the League has ever witnessed. Harden sneaks that third step in so quick and muddies the line with when he starts his steps and when he picks up his dribble that I can see why refs never call it. And I’m glad they don’t call it, mostly because of how mad it makes nerds. But also mostly because if you care about traveling at all you’re a fucking narc. Harden baiting cheap fouls just by throwing his burly body around in the lane is infinitely more annoying than taking an outrageous 12-foot stepback and draining it. But it’s probably for the best the League keeps that stepback to only one guy. You get everyone doing it and it loses its luster.