In every issue of Dime, we run a feature called “The Baller’s Blueprint,” where we get up with different NBA players and have them break down their signature moves and skills. For Dime #50, we got up with Nets’ star Devin Harris to find out the secrets of his offensive game.

Asked to explain Devin Harris’ breakout ’08-09 season—in which he averaged career-highs with 21.3 points and 6.9 assists, made his first All-Star Game, and finished second in Most Improved Player voting—the word most often thrown around is “freedom.” When Harris was traded from Dallas to New Jersey, he left the micro-managing clutches of then-Mavs coach Avery Johnson and fell into the open-court system of NJ’s Lawrence Frank.

“Devin has the freedom to just go,” says Chris Paul. “When he was at Wisconsin in college, he was a great scorer. But in Dallas, when he had Dirk, Josh Howard, guys like that, he held some of that back for the benefit of the team. Now in New Jersey, they’re just letting him go.”

Two of the go-to moves Devin uses to get buckets are his step-back between the legs, and his stop-on-a-dime spin into a pull-up jumper. He most memorably broke out the latter on Nov. 26, at Sacramento, when Harris drove right, spun back left, and sent Bobby Jackson stumbling to the baseline as he nailed the game-winner with 12 seconds left in overtime.

Here, Devin explains how he pulls off his signature moves:

“I just make them up; I don’t know where they come from. It’s all about creating space to get open on the drive, then I just go from there.

“With my speed, guys are usually backing up anyway. The defender is so worried about getting beat to the basket, you can pretty much do anything. And with the way our offense is structured, with the way our team is structured, I have that freedom to just go with it.

“It’s all about reaction, normally. It’s real simple. The step-back between the legs is pretty self-explanatory; same with the spin move. But I noticed guys are starting to look out for it. Once they’ve seen it a couple times, they don’t want to get beat by it again.”

More Baller’s Blueprint features:
Ben Gordon’s step-back jumper

Rajon Rondo’s fake behind-the-back pass

Tyreke Evans’ Mission to Get Buckets in the L