FanPost

FGF: Most of Shabazz Muhammad's assists

What runs through your head as you watch Shabazz Muhammad dribble into a double team, pump fake three times, and then desperately pivot, looking for some teammate to dump the ball on? Was he told to blatantly ignore his teammates? Was he generally unaware of the open space created by his reputation? Is this all there is to life? And what will it mean when he dons a Timberwolves jersey? Can we learn anything at all from watching 17 of Shabazz's 26 assists? Or from the fact that one was miscounted, and at least three were due to very generous statisticians?

The answer is no, we learn almost nothing from watching the video. We don't need the eye test because the fact that we could assemble this video in a relatively brief period of time is evidence enough. The real question is: what is the most appropriate background music? So many of you made suggestions in different places that I couldn't even begin to filter through them all. At first, the sentimental struck me while I figured with his new Timberwolf status, a local hit might be appropriate. Many of your suggestions instead highlighted the content of the video, from Nickels and Dimes to Give it Away, All Things Must Pass to Pass the Mic. Searching my own collection, I quite like the match with The 'May I Help You' Riff and I Can't Give You Anything. However, this one in particular seemed to hit both the passing and the direction it tends to go: I would like to think that a couple versions of this video might have made Grantland's 2013 Youtube Draft power rankings, presenting a side of Shabazz that no one had really seen before, a window into the Point Forward that has been repressed inside Shabazz's soul and is waiting to be freed by David Adelman in upcoming Summer League games. Shabazz Muhammad, you have already given us so much. You are unforgettable, but in the end you're right. I hope you have the time of your life. Thanks so much to all who helped: in particular, jacob9, serevei, andrew33, and KGMN did yeoman's work finding the assists and videos. Too many suggestions to give thanks for, but you know who you are. And we might as well make this a music thread as well with the theme of assisting, giving, sharing, etc (it's been a while?). Share these videos widely. Maybe we'll eek out the last few videos.