For those trying to learn the crossover, this is a great video to watch if you want to learn AI's cross. They slow it down so you can see his footwork. AI crosses from the left hand to the right--always. AI always sets the defender up by dribbling with the ball in his left until he's ready to cross, then he lets the ball go a little higher or wider, while at the same time he starts with a hop off his right foot--almost like a skip--then he plants the left hard and crosses back against his body.
This was great analysis!! He showed exactly where AI's hand was in relation to the ball--it didn't go under--so no carry. I get so sick and tired of people who can't ball automatically saying he carries the ball or worse travels. That crossover is a great move...period!
Man i mastered that hesitation crossover by my idol AI. Its clearly not a carry(hand is on the side of the ball,not under, no palming) but when that day he showed up Jordan(rookie year), it became a carry. How intriguing.
i was at this game. it was the first time i ever saw him play. i won tickets in a free throw contest. he dropped 50 on the cavs that game as a rookie. i've been a fan ever since. and this was before he developed a real jump shot. wow!
The problem is many people trying this move actually carry the ball. Although it's harder to shift the defender but I like hardaway cross more as it's more tight, has many counters and 100 percent carry free
From the 2012-13 NBA rule book: "A player who is dribbling may not...bring it to a pause and then continue to dribble again." The ball is brought to a pause in his hand. It's not spinning in his palm or being bounced. Now you know the game of basketball. I'm always happy to help a beginner.
A.I. wuz just ahead of his time. They didnt know what to call or what to expect when the ball was in his hands he wuz that good. He really started a evolution in ball handling.
Iverson and his crossover were very influential on 90's basketball/hip hop culture. 2 things that were big to me growing up. Watching this vid is nostalgic.
i was just explaining on ref's side, refs usually call for carrying when u switch hands during cross over. and when ur thumb is pointing upward, it means ur hand is on side of the ball, not on top, if ur thumb go over 90 degree, it means ur hands is underneath the ball, not on side of the ball.
THIS is the best video to watch if you want to learn the crossover. It all begins with his footwork. The crossover is just the result of the footwork! This video is so good because it is slowed down so you can actually see what AI does. Another good video to watch is "Allen Iverson crossover in a pickup game" because it also shows AI's crossover in slow motion. It's just from a different angle.
Agreed 100%. Jordan's biggest advantage was in the late 80's and early 90's he was physically bigger than all other guards in the NBA except Magic and Drexler.
he uses that crossover dribble like he invented well creator or not iverson makes this move more effective than it was supposed to be when it was created
The very reason it works is because he carries it. Holding the ball is what causes that hesitation. People cry like its that hard to keep your hand over the ball. If you can't play by the rules what's the point.
well wilt chaberlain liked to say " people say nobody is perfect...then they say practice makes perfect... aaaaargh i wish they could just make up their minds" :D
philly had those jerseys 4 only 3 years they changed them in 97-98 this was from the end of 96-97 the year before dana barros wore number 3 with those jerseys
I love how the announcers freeze-frame and say his hand is on the back of the ball, then the moment the footage continues his hand goes under the ball.
yeah, you're right my friend. iverson has mentioned before that this was one of the reasons why he had scaled back on the crossover thing because the refs would always call it a palming violation when he first came in to the league. plus that crossover was so new in someways that the refs just didn't understand the beauty of it. they don't call it palming violation anymore on that same crossover in the NBA.
exactly!! man bout time someone agrees with me its gonna happen i dont doubt a.i one bit i mean im soo beyond confident that were gonna win a ring u know?
This is the perfect video to learn how to XO. Watch AI's footwork. He starts off his right foot with a hop, plants his left and crosses from his left to right. It's like 123. He ALWAYS starts his cross off of his right foot then left. Type "Allen Iverson crossover in a pick up game" in the Utube search bar. This video also shows AI's crossover in slow motion and you get to see it from the front. Watch his feet closely. Right first then left and then cross. Every time. The footwork is the key!
his hand doesn't necessarily have to be underneath the ball for it to be a carry. Iverson is capable of palming the ball with his hand entirely on top of it, for instance.
his hands donest need to be underneath the basket to be called carrying. basic for dribbling is keeping ur palm facing floor, if ur thumb points upward like that, thats usually be called for carrying.
i dont' know about that dribble. it can go either way as legal or a carry. But the the opponent will always think that iverson's next move is to dribble directly down with the ball because if he crosses, the defender thinks that WOULD be a carrying violation is WHY the defender gets fooled every time.
I think at that time there was controversy: refs were kind of lost, since they had never seen thad kind of crazy crossovers, so every time AI was dribbling it it was watched with extra attention... I remember that kind of thing with Jason Williams anyway... Seems that's one thing the league adressed well in the last few years...
You want to know what really happened here? The NBA started calling Allen's crossover a carry because we all know how sternbot and the NBA management feel about Iverson...:/, and they started calling it because they know it is his go to move. He has many more though, and look, his hand is ON TOP of the ball! Why don't they call travel when Tim Duncan does that spin hook move?
Yea.. No palming violation here.. I'm glad that they replayed it and slowed it down to see.. hand clearly on the back of the basketball and NOT underneath it,, He just did the move so quick and made the defender look sooo silly, I think the Ref felt bad for the guy and gave him a call.. smh
this is how i sum up this move and all his cross overs: its a LEGAL move. but it looks like a near illegal move and thats why people fall for it. defenders think that the only option for AI to do is either drop the ball to his left or jump shoot. they do not suspect him to cross over because they think he would do a carrying violation. it is LEGAL but he is tricking the defenders because they think he did not have that option to cross over.
Back when the officials actually blew their whistles on close calls. I don't even think whistles are issued to refs anymore for their standard uniform.
on the europe ball and Fiba discussion: Fiba allows hand checking and more physical play than the NBA. also, Fiba has a ver specific rule on traveling involving soething about lifting ur pivot foot b4 u dribble and KD has had it called many times. NBA refs woudve not cared and watched in awe
wow..it was so perfect..im gonna practice that kind of crossover....A.I. is not the best nba player(its prolly kobe right now)but he has the best crossover in the nba...
This is'nt a carry the hand is on the back of the ball,everybody just thinks its a carry cuz A.i is lighting quick this crossover changed the game thats way I say it's the greatest crossover ever! everybody else started doing it after A.I introduced it to the league..Kobe,Steve Francis just to name a few that took A.I cross and made it their own!
@RazziD You are so right. im from VA and I seen it up close and personal. no on could guard it, and once jordan couldnt stop it, I knew that the NBA would punk out and start calling bogus calls on it.
Not a travel. As the commentator said, bad call. Traveling is missed all the time in NBA, then and now, but this play wasn't traveling. Sucks to be an official sometimes.
