The 17 Most Ankle-Breaking Basketball Moves Of 2012

It was a landmark year for crossovers in the NBA.

1. Jamal Crawford on Rudy Gay

It’s fitting that we start with Jamal Crawford, because Jamal Crawford is one of the most lethal dribblers in the league. Poor Rudy Gay just doesn’t know what to do.

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2. Jamal Crawford on Ray Allen

Ray Allen doesn’t fare much better — he ends up in a different zip code than Crawford by the end of this shot. At least he keeps his feet.

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3. Chris Paul on Samardo Samuels

Crawford’s teammate Chris Paul is always good for a few broken ankles every year.

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4. Nate Robinson on Reggie Jackson

For all his flaws, Nate Robinson can do two things very well: dunk and handle. Here, he’s handling, and Reggie Jackson can’t do much about it.

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5. Stephen Curry on Jeffery Taylor

Curry does a little of the ol’ back-and-forth on the hapless Taylor, who plays for the hapless Bobcats. Just a lot of hapless going on here.

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6. Lou Williams on Stephen Curry

Steph knows what it feels like to be on the other end of broken ankles, considering what Lou Williams did to him here.

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7. Jameer Nelson on Jannero Pargo

Fun fact: Pargo actually falls onto a skateboard when he goes down here.

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8. Rodney Stuckey on Kobe Bryant

Here, bit-player Stuckey puts the moves on one of the NBA’s greatest players of all time, showing that ankle-breakage sees no class boundary.

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9. Lance Stephenson on Tony Parker

Another case of an inferior player taking a superior one to the ground. Lance Stephenson spins Tony Parker around and leaves him in a heap.

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10. Norris Cole on Paul George

Just a tremendous, fundamental step-back from Norris Cole.

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11. Russ Westbrook on Luke Ridnour

Poor Ridnour didn’t stand a chance against one of the league’s most athletic dudes.

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12. Kyrie Irving on Iman Shumpert

Kyrie’s started inspiring plenty of “Is he the best dribbler in the league?” discussion, and this juke from his rookie year shows why. Shumpert’s a plus defender, too.

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13. Marco Belinelli on Mike Dunleavy, Jr.

Neither of these guys are players you tend to associate with athleticism, but here, Belinelli gets the upper hand, and Dunleavy Jr. ends up buried in the hardwood.

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14. Delonte West on Randy Foye

When Delonte can manage to stay on the court, he’s a dazzling and versatile offensive player. Randy Foye found that out the hard way.

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15. Kevin Durant on Aleksandr Pavlovic

Don’t feel bad, Aleksandr Pavlovic: Kevin Durant does this to a lot of guys.

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16. Joe Johnson on Paul Pierce

We close with two ankle-breakings related by their victim: poor, aging Paul Pierce. In this case, Joe Johnson gets verrrrrrrry low and basically forces Pierce to kneel to him.

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17. Jameer Nelson on Paul Pierce

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And then there’s this. R.I.P. Paul Pierce.

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