Everyone loves to see a guy get crossed up so badly he falls to the ground. “He broke his ankles!” we scream and watch the highlight again and again and again. And I agree, it’s always fun to see a shifty guard with incredible handles twist a defender into a pretzel and drop him to the floor.
But there’s an alternative to breaking someone’s ankles, and while it doesn’t get as much attention as a good crossover, it’s just as potent. It’s the drop-step that leaves a defender absolutely stunned, and Luka Doncic did it to Deandre Ayton in the opening quarter of Game 3 of the Dallas Mavericks’ second round series against the Phoenix Suns:
Watch Doncic as he separates Ayton from his soul with just two pivots.