Miami, FL
Miami Heat Great Tim Hardaway Settles Debate, Says Crossover Dribble Is Better Than Allen Iverson’s
Former Miami Heat guard and Hall-of-Fame legend Tim Hardaway explains why his crossover is better … [+]
Miami Heat great Tim Hardaway has a thing or two to say about who is the true king of the crossover.
The five-time All-Star and Hall of Fame point guard â who made a career out of crossing defenders over with his trademark dribble, the âUTEP two-stepâ â says thereâs âno questionâ that he has the best crossover when asked who has the best ever dribble.
“I’m the original crossover king,â said Hardaway in a one-on-one interview during All-Star weekend. âDon’t insult me like that.â
Allen Iverson â the Philadelphia 76ers legend and fellow Hall of Fame guard â entered the NBA several years after Hardaway, but was often touted for his own crossover abilities. However, Hardaway â who has always maintained heâs a better crossover artist than Iverson â explained why his crossover dribble is better than the former MVPâs own move.
“People think I’m hating on Allen Iverson,â says Hardaway. âI’m not hating on him. I’m just saying this â ask people what crossover are they using in today’s game. Is it Tim Hardaway’s or is it Allen Iverson? I guarantee nobody in basketball today in the NBA today is using his crossover or teaching his crossover. I guarantee that.â
Hardaway â who entered the NBA in 1989 â was seen as the guard who initiated the crossover revolution in the league. Itâs no secret that the 6-foot Hardaway mastered the crossover to the point where he left defenders stuck in their sneakers as he drifted into the paint for baskets.
His crossover abilities were so elite that it not only created easy paint scores for the undersized guard, it led to highlight plays that created easy baskets for his Heat and Golden State Warriors teammates. Hardaway was a nightly highlight reel early on in his career for the âRun TMCâ trio in Golden State featuring fellow future Hall-of-Fame players such as Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond.
Hardaway ranked in the top nine in assists per game in five of his first six seasons â he missed the entire 1993-94 season due to a knee injury â and was named an All-Star in three of his first four years with the Warriors.
Iverson â who entered the league in 1996 â quickly put his imprint on the league due to his variation of the crossover, which was a longer dribble that lulled the defender to sleep before the 6-foot guard would quickly penetrate to the paint.
However, the move didnât come without controversy. In fact, not only did many consider it to be a carry, the NBA itself considered the move to be a carry. Former referee Tim Donaghy claimed that himself and referees targeted Iverson by calling palming violations on him in one particular game, even going so far as to say that the Philadelphia 76ers great did it every game.
In a November â96 column, Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan pointed out how Iversonâs âpalmingâ violation was already creating a fuss shortly into his NBA career.
âThe NBA has actually instructed referees to monitor Allen Iversonâs natural dribble, which, as all college basketball fans have known all along, is a palming violation ⦠By God, thereâs slim hope for this league yet,â wrote Ryan.
Hardaway points towards Iversonâs reputation for âcarryingâ the ball as the reason why his crossover is better.
âBecause it was a carry,â says Hardaway bluntly. âEverybody says that I’m hating. I don’t hate on Allen Iverson. The truth is the truth. Even the referees in the league said it’s a carry. But they let him get away with it because he was Allen Iverson.â
The 57-year-old former point guard actually defends Iversonâs move, mentioning that other NBA greats such as Magic Johnson and Kevin Durant have gotten away with their own dribbling violations over the years. He also points out that there are multiple traveling violations in the game today, saying that you could call 60 travels per game.
âThey let Magic Johnson get away with a double dribble,â says Hardaway. âThe referee called it sometimes. If you want to call a carry, Kevin Durant carries all the time. But they don’t call it because that’s his move.â
Hardaway explains that he has no beef with the Sixers guard, calling him the best âpound-for-poundâ player in NBA history.
âI love Allen,â says Hardaway. âWe don’t have a beef, I’m happy for his career. Pound-for-pound he was the best guard in the NBA. He did what he’s supposed to do, he revolutionized hip-hop culture in the NBA with what he did. I’m not taking anything away from him. But you cannot tell me his crossover is better than mine. I’m just not going to have that.â
Miami, FL
Shooting in northwest Miami-Dade leaves man in critical condition, sheriff’s office says
An investigation is underway at a northwest Miami-Dade apartment complex after the sheriff’s office said a man was shot by his girlfriend after a “heated dispute” early Wednesday morning.
Few details have been released, but the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said the incident took place at an apartment complex located off Northwest 7th Avenue.
The sheriff’s office said that a man became involved in a “heated dispute” with his girlfriend, and she shot him in the right arm.
He was rushed to a hospital by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue in critical condition.
The woman is in custody.
The identities of those who were involved have not yet been released.
No other information was available.
Miami, FL
Miami Heat-Brooklyn Nets Injury Report, Betting Lines, How to Watch, Lineups & More
Game date, time and location: Tuesday, Mar. 3, 7:30 p.m. EST, Kaseya Center, Miami, Florida
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun, YES Network (Brooklyn)
Radio: 104.3 FM (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale), ESPN 106.3 FM, (West Palm Beach), FOX Sports Radio 105.9 FM (Ft. Myers/Naples), 1450 AM (Suart), 97.7 FM (Florida Keys), WAQI 710 AM (Spanish-language broadcast, South Florida), WFAN 101.9 FM/660 AM (Brooklyn)
VITALS: The Miami Heat (32-29) and Brooklyn Nets (15-45) meet for the second of three regular season matchups. Earlier this season, Miami recorded a, 106-95, win in Brooklyn on December 18 and has now won four of the last five overall against the Nets.
It also marks the first of consecutive games against Brooklyn with the teams facing each other again on Thursday. The Heat are 83-61 all-time versus the Nets during the regular season, including 44-26 in home games and 39-35 in road games.
PROJECTED STARTERS
HEAT
G Davion Mitchell
G Tyler Herro
C Bam Adebayo
F Pelle Larsson
F Andrew Wiggins
NETS
G Nolan Traore
G Terance Mann
C Nic Claxton
F Michael Porter Jr.
F Noah Clowney
INJURY REPORT
HEAT
Davion Mitchell: Questionable – Shoulder
Norman Powell: Out – Groin
Nikola Jovic: Out – Back
Trevor Keels: Available – G League
Jahmir Young: Available – G League
Vlad Goldin: Available – G League
Terry Rozier: Out – Not with team
NETS
Nic Claxton: Probable – Thumb
Egor Demin: Out – Foot
QUOTABLE
Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra: “Regardless of the scheme is, I always go back to that, it’s just about committing to doing hard things. We were really moving in the zone, taking away airspace and scrambling to challenge shots at the rim. In a lot of these losses in the last month we’ve just been giving up shots at the rim and threes.”
For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.
Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at Twitter: @tropicalblanket
Miami, FL
Orlando 2-4 Miami (2 Mar, 2026) Game Analysis – ESPN
ORLANDO, Fla. — Lionel Messi scored twice in a four-goal second half, defender Telasco Segovia added a goal and two assists and defending champion Inter Miami CF rallied to beat Orlando City SC 4-2 on Sunday night, winning for the first time at Inter&Co Stadium.
Messi took a pass from Segovia and scored in the 57th minute to tie it 2-2, and Segovia scored unassisted in the 85th for the lead. Messi put the finishing touch on the victory when he scored off a free kick in the 90th.
“The victory belongs exclusively to the players,” Miami coach Javier Mascherano said after the game. “In the second half, they were a championship team. There were no tactics, nothing like that. There was heart, courage, possession, resilience, commitment. I think the team came out because they were champions last year.
“In the end, the players showed it. This victory is theirs.”
Messi’s first two goals of the season give him 52 in his first 55 regular-season MLS matches — 51 of them in his past 49 appearances. It also brought the reigning MLS MVP to 898 career goals scored, including 672 for Barcelona and 115 for Argentina.
“He’s the best player to ever play this sport. He’s a leader, and as a leader, he inspires others, but he also often needs to be inspired himself,” Mascherano said of Messi. “When he was driving forward, he had more attacking options, and with so many opportunities, he clearly has the ability to create chances like no one else, and that’s what allowed us to turn the game around.”
Marco Pašalić took a pass from Iván Angulo and scored in the 18th minute to give Orlando City a 1-0 lead. Pašalić has scored in four straight matches against Inter Miami.
Defender Griffin Dorsey set up Martín Ojeda for a goal six minutes later for a 2-0 advantage that stood through halftime.
Inter Miami cut it to 2-1 four minutes into the second half on Mateo Silvetti’s first career goal. Defenders Segovia and Facundo Mura had assists as the 20-year-old forward found the net in his fifth career appearance.
Segovia had eight goals and six assists as a rookie last season, while Mura collected his first assist in his first season.
Dayne St. Clair, the reigning goalkeeper of the year, turned away three shots — all in the second half of his second start with Inter Miami, but let in a soft goal for Orlando’s first.
Maxime Crépeau had four saves in his second start for Orlando City.
Teenager Colin Guske, 19, will miss Orlando City’s next match after the rookie picked up two yellow cards in his first start — the second one led to his exit in the 88th minute.
Inter Miami, which had never won in its previous nine trips to Orlando, was coming off a 3-0 road loss to LAFC.
Orlando City swept Inter Miami during the regular season last year and leads the all-time series 8-7-4.
Inter Miami plays D.C. United on Saturday at Audi Field. Orlando City is also on the road with a match against New York City FC.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this recap.
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