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NBA

The LeBron James Rule?

Ryne at Odenized grabbed the video of this play from the Cavs' loss to the Wizards, a play that looks to stretch the boundaries of the basketball rule book. It's LeBron James picking up his dribble, then doing a "hop" into a defender, resulting in a blocking call on the Wizards. Reggie Miller claims this is a new rule put in just for LeBron, but I'm not so sure.



While at first glance this appears to be a questionable play by LeBron, the reality is it's been going on for years. It's commonly referred to as a "jump stop," though the NBA rule book does not use this specific terminology. It's a legal play alright, and an excerpt from NBA.com's Misunderstood Rules section on traveling sums it up like this:

When ending his dribble a player may use a two count rhythm in coming to a stop, passing or shooting ... If a player jumps off one foot on the count of one he may land with both feet simultaneously for count two. In this situation, the player may not pivot with either foot and if one or both feet leave the floor the ball must be released before either return to the floor.

Translation: LeBron's "hop" is a perfectly legal move, as long as after he jumps he lands with both feet simultaneously (as in the above clip), and then releases the ball (in a shot or a pass) before he comes down from his next jump. The move I'd like to see called a foul is the LeBron James charge, where he simply lowers his head and drives directly into a defender. Now that should be called the LeBron Rule, because he seemingly gets away with it on a nightly basis.

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