Should The Gather Step in the NBA Be Banned?
The gather step has been found exasperating and annoying to many NBA players and countless basketball players. This move occurs when a player takes two extra steps when gathering the ball which allows a player to take “more than 2 steps.” Which they can also use a eurostep(taking two big steps) in the process further making the move harder to guard. The gather step is one of the most hated moves in the NBA because of how much ground players can cover.
Players like Giannis Antetokounmpo use this move and average nearly 30 points a game with 60% FG. In doing this move and getting the extra step, it allows Giannis to cover up to 7 more feet on the court. His skill has led him to be a leading MVP candidate. Players before him like Manu Ginobili, have also practiced this move a lot, overall popularizing the move in general.
An opinion from a fellow student at Rio, Cameron Carbaugh, “I think the gather step is a crafty and legal move, I don’t see anything wrong with it.” As seen Cameron sees nothing wrong with this move, and this is a valid argument, it twists the rules just enough for it to be legal. On the other hand, another student Daniel Teshome states, “I hate the gather step, it makes no sense.” There are two sides to this argument, which is whether this move be allowed. The gather step rule allows the player to take a step while gathering the ball/picking up the ball, then taking the allowed 2 steps, making this move completely legal. This move can open the gate for many more moves that we see today that make the game even more exciting.
This move helps stop fewer travel calls so you watch the game consistently without having something such as a travel happen every five minutes. But as much as this move is only allowed in the NBA, people still find a way to dislike and degrade the move. As much as we can love or hate the move, moves like these exemplify the development of the league and display exciting moves.