DALLAS, Texas -- So-called "star calls" have been commonplace in the NBA for many years, even if it often perturbs fans. But you haven't truly arrived until you have your own "star rules."
has been there for a while,
is just getting there now.
Decades ago the league installed a rule that players who are fouled before the ball is inbounded or away from the ball in the final two minutes of the game get free throws plus another possession. This was once known as the
rule but over the last dozen or so years has become known as the Shaq rule. It limits the effectiveness of the Hack-a-Shaq strategy late in close games.
Five years ago this month, the NBA installed a new hand check rule that prevented defenders from placing their hands on players at all when they're driving from the perimeter. At the time the league was concerned about the pace of scoring after watching the Spurs and Pistons rack up titles by holding opponents in the 70s with physical defense.
The fact there were a host of young, skilled drivers in the league probably wasn't a big factor in the decision, but it turned out to be a huge benefit for them. There's no doubt it has been a significant advantage for James, who started exploiting it on a nightly basis and instantly became a regular among the league scoring leaders.
It also was a welcome relief to Dwyane Wade, who uses the rule more artfully than James sometimes, and ultra-quick guards like Tony Parker.
Now comes this. The NBA has re-written another long-standing rule that directly benefits James and surely will kick off some debate with basketball purists. It is now in writing that players are permitted to take two steps after they "gather" the ball and not be called for traveling.
Here is how the rule now reads: "A player who receives the ball while he is progressing or upon completion of a dribble, may take two steps in coming to a stop, passing or shooting the ball."
This has been common practice for years. In fact, officials were instructed to allow two steps after the gather despite what the rule book read. But now that it is official, it could clear the way for James to take his driving skills to another level.
One of James' trademark moves since he was in high school has been the jump stop. It is striking when he does it because it doesn't look like it should be legal, the ability to leap several feet to a halt and then take another step to get to the basket.
It had become a somewhat of a forgotten tactic in the NBA, which is why James is so effective with it. In high school often officials would be so taken aback by seeing they'd call traveling even when it wasn't. When he got to the NBA James slowly adapted it and started doing it illegally.
By the letter of the law, players executing a jump stop must land on both feet at the same time and then may establish a pivot foot by taking a step. James is so quick and strong that often he'd use the jump stop as an extra step, landing on one foot and then with the second foot before taking yet another step as his pivot. He often does it so fast and with such grace that he usually got away with it.
There were some officials who didn't allow it, including Bill Spooner last season in Washington. He called James for traveling on his jump stop maneuver and it cost the Cavs a game. Afterwards James made headlines by saying he was executing a "crab dribble," but the truth was he'd been caught in an inproper jump stop.
But the jump stop is a "gather" move, as in the act of gathering the ball from the dribble into the shot. With two steps now allowed, the path has been cleared for James to go back to jump stopping without fear of reprisal. Exactly the sort of news the Most Valuable Player likes to hear.
The "LeBron James Rule" is about to enter the NBA lexicon.