The Hitch and LeBron's Iconic Shot

Up two, with about 30 seconds to play in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the Miami HEAT are about to run a pick-and-roll with their point guard – only the point guard doesn’t have the ball in his hands. Years spent building the habits of versatility come down to Mario Chalmers setting a ball screen and Tony Parker hedging a pick-and-roll. Parker jumps out on the ball just long enough for Kawhi Leonard to fight his way past the screen and cut off the drive in the paint.

As it had been for all of this near-mythic series, the cushion was there for LeBron James. The jumper was there for the taking, and James took it. If he missed the and HEAT lost, people would ignore years and years of data and exclaim that James can’t get it done at the end of games. If he made it and the HEAT won, people would ignore years and years of data and exclaim that James had finally proven himself to be a closer. It’s remarkably unfair – illogical, even – but these are the moments that history remembers, and as the shot went in and the HEAT took a two-possession lead, James took hold of history.

This should be the iconic LeBron James shot. A dribble jumper to secure bottle-popping rights. A move any kid can replicate in his driveway. Dribble right. Stop. Pop. Title. There is elegance in simplicity, a certain grace in jumpers that affects the way we think about players. If history is any indication, this is the shot we should think about when we think about LeBron James.