CIN-C-STAR wrote:The first step he uses to push off into his 1-2 step back is treated as a gather step, even though yes it technically was after the gather.
In the NBA you get a 3rd step called a gather step, where by rule they don't count the step that occurs with the gather. However, even that lax rule gets enforced laxly, like here, so you can gather and then take 3 steps so long as the first step occurs reasonably soon after the gather.
Bit convoluted and technical, but basically yeah the NBA isn't in the business of enforcing rules anymore, they're in the business of letting guys do whatever it takes to get more buckets so they can push the narrative that the skill level is eons ahead of what it was even 10 years ago.
The toe tap ensures that the foot work allows this. This has been the rule for decades, but the mba clarified it a few years ago. Players were just kneecapping themselves with lack of knowledge. Many of the moves of early lebron that people complained about were in fact legal moves. Like the infamous botched game winner against Washington like 6 years ago comes to mind right away