I’m telling you guys, whenever you need a laugh, scoop up some old YouTube videos (like I have) during the AND 1/streetball/Ja Rule/throwbacks/size 40 jeans period and thank me later. I still remember constantly downloading those old AND 1 tapes back on Kazaa, dribbling in front of mirrors, in racquetball courts, in school. Honestly, looking back on it now, that was one of the weirdest phenomenons I’ve ever seen. People who weren’t even basketball fans were obsessed with Hot Sauce.
I actually enjoy watching some videos like these – ball handling is a skill that will improve whether you’re doing figure 8s or standing in front of a mirror – and I always looked at AND 1 as a way to get more comfortable dribbling a basketball. So the movement did have some strengths. And it yielded the classic NBA Street video game series for the old Xbox, which was one of the most underrated video games ever because it combined street stuff with actual NBA signature moves (it also had a vault of every move in the game, so you could learn them if you were into that).
As the years have moved on, and as the old AND 1 tapes continue to collect dust in storage and as I’ve started to forget about The Notic, I took a trip down memory lane. Whereas people might’ve once loved these moves, now they just trip me up laughing. Here are the 10 worst streetball moves ever (or at least 10 really bad ones that I could find).
*by the way, no one needs to be catching feelings over this list. No one is hating…just having some laughs
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10. I think this is the ugliest cousin of the Shammgod possible. Some streetball moves can actually work if you’re just messing around at open gym or at the Y. With this one, there’s really no reason to ever use it. Ever.
9. The Slip n’ Slide. Probably one of the most famous streetball tricks ever. I contemplated not even putting this on the list because I gotta respect anyone that can do some of this stuff (half break dancing, half dribbling). But at it’s essence, there really is no point in doing it.
8. The move at :55 seconds is batting 0 for one million on its effectiveness. Still, it’s weird watching this Hot Sauce tape. I’m pretty sure this was on the AND 1 Mix Tape Vol. 3, and everyone’s minds were blown.
7. If you can’t laugh at the first 10 seconds of this video, then I don’t know what to tell you.
6. Whenever a move is nicknamed the “backache” it’s probably a sign that’s it’s not a very good move.
5. I don’t even know where to start with this one. I remember trying it a few times, but it always seemed to never work out. First of all, points taken off for the fact that you normally need a teammate to catch the toss. Second, it’s virtually impossible to make it work in an actual game. And third, it just sucks.
4. Another variation of #5. It isn’t any good either. This move doesn’t even shake somebody. Who came up with this? You toss the ball from behind the defender’s head and then try to bob and weave until the ball comes back down as if someone just got shook. It’s really not a shake at all.
3. I won’t even touch this one…
2. Remember how I said if a move is nicknamed the “backache” then it’s probably not a good move? It’s the same with this one.
1. The all-time worst move I’ve ever seen. Anytime you’re going away from the hoop while doing a move that doesn’t take you anywhere, it’s a bad look.
What do you think is the worst streetball move ever?
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