Death of a Selfish Combo Guard

Hate him or love him, Steve Francis marked a brief fizzle in modern NBA history. With a unique game, personality and talents, his career was draped in fake fur hype from the moment he refused to play for Vancouver. The young Francis would quickly come to encapsulate the evolution of NBA point guards in the early 2000s: rebellious ball handlers who shot first and passed third. With a flamboyantly effective crossover and calve bunnies that let him bang on pretty much anyone, Francis possessed that rare style of wedding a playground game with NBA competition.

But it didn’t last and his recent decision to play in China, along with Iverson’s move to Istanbul marks the demise of arrogant combo guards who shot too much. Francis had never played point guard before (in college he was big enough to play shooting guard) and outright lacked the ability to do so in the NBA. Any ideas of early success were mirages of optimism revved up by how much fun it was to watch him play. With the media and fans turning a blind eye to things like turnovers and low assists, high flashy dunks and reams of highlight videos defined Francis’s first few years.

But like a broke tranny, Francis was a shooting guard hopelessly born into a point guard’s body, awkwardly running fast breaks from the lanes, fantasizing about being on the receiving end. His dribble was too weak to beat zones or presses, and the only way he seemed comfortable attacking was after a few skippy playground dribbles to orient himself. Teams quickly learned to shut down his lanes and blunt his angles, and Francis couldn’t adapt, couldn’t diversify. Compound that with a few years of wear and tear and a crucial first step that isn’t so quick against 22-year olds anymore and Francis started drifting, first to Orlando then to Portland for a short stint and finally to New York.

Next stop, The People’s Republic of China, where he’ll join like-minded one-time NBA All-Star point guards like Stephon Marbury and Allen Iverson to bust ankles in places most of them can’t pronounce.