On Feb. 28, Houston Rockets guard and MVP front-runner James Harden pulled off one of the plays of the 2017-18 NBA season when he crossed up Clippers guard Wesley Johnson. Some dubbed it "the crossover of the year."
Poor Wesley Johnson. The dude was just out here trying to play defense when he got ethered by the most dynamic isolation player in the NBA. Adding to Johnson's misery: after Harden crossed him up, the Beard stepped back beyond the arc, stared at Johnson, then drilled a three. Ouch.
š³ JAMES. HARDEN. š³#Rockets pic.twitter.com/JCphxLzP18
SomeĀ argued Harden pushed off, but no one disputed that it was an incredible show of ball-handling.
Johnson, however, doesn't seem too demoralized by it.
"I was just thinking, 'Next play,'" he said, according to ESPN, which has already published a mini oral history of the play. "People oohed and aahed, but it's just onto the next play."
The piece includes analysis and reactions from many parties who were involved.
"Stuff like that happens," Johnson added. "Somebody gets dunked on, somebody falls down, it's going to go viral. Social media is undefeated right now."
Shout out to Wes for having a great attitude about this. The internetĀ isĀ undefeated, and if you get crossed up or dunked on, your Twitter mentions will forever hold evidence of it. Just ask Brandon Knight.
Johnson was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2010 draft (the one in which John Wall went No. 1). The 30-year-old is not a franchise guy, but he's a good defender (seriously!) and a valuable rotation player for the Clippers.
