One of the hottest moves in basketball right now is the so-called Pinoy Step. It’s so hot, it has already infiltrated the NBA. In fact, it has been a go-to move for some of the Association’s brightest talents, such as Indiana Pacers point god Tyrese Haliburton and Chicago Bulls high-flyer Zach Lavine.
Check out Hali’s version.
Here’s Zach the Pinoy attack!
Arguably, the best at executing the Pinoy Step right now in the NBA is Brooklyn Nets main man Mikal Bridges. The athletic forward has been averaging a career-high 22.3 points this season, and several of his buckets have come from the crafty move.
In his 42-point outing earlier this month, Bridges busted it out a couple of times to freeze the defense and get the easy lay-in.
Bridges has been so nice with the Pinoy Step that SB Nation’s Nets Daily did a feature entitled, “The history of ‘Pinoy step,’ Mikal Bridges’ new favorite move.” The piece was written by Luis Kaplan and yep, he did his homework. Included in his write-up was a section that identified one of the move’s originators.
“As the name implies, the move comes by way of the Philippines, where it’s enjoyed immense popularity over the past decade-plus,” Kaplan wrote.
“Kiefer Ravena, a Filipino hooper currently playing for the Shiga Lakes of Japan’s B2 League, is credited as one of the pioneers of the move, and it's been in his bag since high school,” he added.
Proud with the hat tip, Ravena shared an Instagram Story that featured a screenshot of Kaplan’s article.
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The Pinoy Step is basically a pump fake while taking the first of two legal steps before taking a shot. It’s your normal drive to the basket with a shot fake at the beginning of the gather.
Prepare to see more of it, not only in the Japan B.League and the PBA, but also in the NBA in the months to come.
Manong knows.
(PM)