![]() The next year in Miami, Tim would return to form, averaging 20.3 ppg, 8.6 apg, and 1.9 spg while nailing 208 three pointers-earning him a fourth place finish in the 1997 NBA MVP voting. He and the Heat would meet and be swept by the Michael Jordan led 72 win Chicago Bulls team that year, a team many consider the best of all time. Tim started 28 games and averaged 17.2 ppg and 10 apg. Hardaway was traded to the Miami Heat in the middle of the 1996 season. His crisp handles and ability to create his shot was a thing of beauty. In addition, Hardaway’s “UTEP Two-Step” matured into the “Killer Crossover” in the NBA and no defender stood a chance. Tim was a certified baller, an elite point guard in an era that featured the likes of John Stockton and Isaiah Thomas. His third season was arguably his best he averaged 23.4 ppg, 10.0 apg, and 2 spg. Additionally, in his second season, Tim improved to 22.9 ppg, 9.7apg, and 2.6 spg. Hardaway averaged 14.7 points per game (ppg), 8.7 assists per game (apg), and 2.1 steals per game (spg) in his rookie season. In 1989, the Golden State Warriors drafted Tim with the 14 th overall pick where he joined teammates Chris Mullin (Hall of Fame, class of 2011) and Mitch Richmond (Hall of Fame, class of 2014) to form “Run TMC” and terrorize the Western Conference with their fast paced run and gun playing style. While at UTEP, Tim was recognized as the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Player of the Year and he received the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award, an award given to the best player in the nation six feet tall or shorter. The NBA took notice. ![]() He would excel in high school basketball at Carver Area High School before attending the University of Texas of El Paso (UTEP), where his crossover would become legendary. Hardaway likely perfected this crossover in Chicago where he was born and raised. ![]() Photo credit to Rodrigo Díez Vignola via Flickr NBA Tim Hardaway: The Most Important Crossover Is His Nextĭo you remember the famed “UTEP Two-step”? That was the original moniker of the crossover Tim Hardaway used as his weapon of choice to break the ankles of any defender who tried to impede his path to the basket.
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