Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine took second place in the NBA HORSE Challenge. Let’s attach a grade to his HORSE skills.
In a unique mid-pandemic event, the NBA held a HORSE contest between some of basketball’s brightest stars. WNBA players, current NBA players and retired NBA players squared off in an eight-person single-elimination tournament. Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine had a strong run but ultimately lost in the championship round.
What makes HORSE fun is that the best basketball players aren’t always the best HORSE players. HORSE generally favors the sharpshooters and creative types.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Zach LaVine in HORSE. As per usual, there was no dunking allowed in this tournament, so LaVine’s biggest strength was neutralized. Or so we thought.
Throughout all three rounds of the tournament, LaVine got creative with athletic, gravity-defying layups. That’s right — a loophole! LaVine couldn’t dunk but he was free to do as many weird in-air antics as he wanted as long as it didn’t end with him dunking the ball. That strategy proved to be too much for Paul Pierce and Allie Quigley, but in the championship round, LaVine met his match.
Mike Conley walked through nearly the entire tournament. He isn’t the most athletic. He’s not the best shooter. But he’s definitely the most creative. Conley dazzled with spinning trick shots, off-handed jumpers and circus layups — not the type that require the same level of athleticism as LaVines, though. Conley’s circus layups were ones that kids try in their driveways.
Against LaVine, the three Conley shots that stood out were:
- A behind-the-back, over-the-head layup.
- A looping floater from behind the backboard.
- A set-shot where he spun the ball on his finger and then punched it off the backboard and in.
Zach had no answer for those shots.
Conley’s creativity wasn’t the only thing LaVine was battling in the championship round. He was also battling the elements. LaVine’s hoop is outdoors and it was noticeably cold and damp on his court. He was frequently blowing warm air into his hands, and for a while, it even looked like it was sleeting outside. Zach also mentioned that his court was slippery so he wasn’t able to do as many shots that required sky-high leaping.
That’s part of the problem with Zach’s HORSE game. He relies on leaping for nearly every tough shot. If he had an indoor court, it wouldn’t be a problem, but in his home state of Washington in mid-April, it was definitely a problem. And he wasn’t able to adapt.
I would’ve liked to see LaVine take more deep jumpers against Conley in the ship. He has limitless range and Conley isn’t the best deep-shooter in the world. I think if LaVine took more 28-footers when he was in control of the shot selection, he would’ve had a better chance of hoisting the imaginary trophy.
Despite LaVine’s downfall in the championship round against Conley, he still proved to be an elite HORSE player. There aren’t many people in the world that could match his layup-trickery. LaVine’s loss to Conley was less of an indictment on LaVine and more of a nod to how good Conley is at the classic game of HORSE.
Ultimately, LaVine just got bested by a really strong opponent.
Grade: A