On a recent episode of KG: Certified, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce had an in-depth discussion about the art of stepback and how James Harden was responsible for revolutionizing the same. While the two kept marveling about Harden’s patented stepback, Pierce did give himself credit for also using the move frequently during his playing days.
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Kevin Garnett began the segment by asking Paul Pierce whether or not James Harden was the godfather of the stepback. After the two could agree upon the same, KG revealed how he saw the Beard do triple stepbacks during summer, leaving him completely bamboozled.
Garnett: “Would y’all say that James Harden is the godfather of all the stepbacks that guys do in the league?”
Pierce: “Yeah, absolutely. He revolutionized it.”
Garnett: “He (Harden) was the first person that I saw start doing, in the summer, triple stepbacks. I was like ‘damn, what the f**k’.”
Paul Pierce also gave himself credit for having the stepback as a crucial offensive move in his arsenal. While he did admit that Harden revolutionized the move, he lauded himself for pioneering the same. Hence, the Truth compared himself to “Yoda” and called Harden “Obi-Wan”.
“Yeah, he revolutionized the stepback for sure. I pioneered it… I’m the Yoda of the step back, he’s the Obi Wan. He revolutionized it and now, everybody else is Luke Skywalkers across the league,” Pierce said.
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The Boston Celtics legends are spot-on about James Harden revolutionizing stepbacks. Especially during his stint with the Houston Rockets, Harden had mastered the art of knocking down these stepbacks.
Paul Pierce, during his prime, would also take stepbacks quite often. While, of course, he wasn’t as creative as Harden is, Pierce was more than capable of drilling down different kinds of stepbacks and sidestep shots.
One of the most iconic plays of Pierce’s career was also an impressive stepback. During a Boston Celtics-Indiana Pacers postseason clash, with the third quarter coming to an end, Pierce kept trash-talking Al Harrington as he let time run down the clock. With 3 seconds remaining on the shot clock, the forward connected a huge stepback three-pointer.
Paul Pierce wasn’t the pioneer of the stepback
Paul Pierce was one of the very few players to master the stepback in the 2000s. Despite his greatness, Pierce wasn’t the pioneer of the move. Long before the Truth even set foot in the league, there were a few players who had been pulling off the move.
Larry Bird, one of the greatest shooters in the game, would frequently try new moves to defeat his opponents. The stepback was one of the moves he mastered. While he didn’t use the stepback to drill three-pointers, there have been numerous plays where Larry Legend got a wide-open midrange by pulling off the move. Among others, Dominique Wilkins fell prey to the deadly move.
James Harden hasn’t been the only player to carry the torch from guys such as Paul Pierce and Gilbert Arenas. Apart from Harden, Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard, who are also two of the greatest long-distance shooters, heavily rely on the stepback as a method to torch their opponents.
With stars of the new era like Luka Doncic and Trae Young using the move, it is pretty safe to say that the stepback will be a move that players will utilize for generations to come.
