Sam Dekker, the unproven rookie, found himself toe-to-toe with veteran Houston Rockets teammate James Harden with the game on the line.
It's a dream scenario for every kid with NBA aspirations, and Dekker wanted to make his mark with a stop against one of the league's best scorers during a 2015 minicamp in Los Angeles.
"He does this move where he goes left and he grabs my arm and holds it to his body and is dribbling and pulling me around, and I'm trying to say, 'foul, foul, foul,' but he's laughing," Dekker said. "Throws me off, goes up for a layup and says, 'Game over.' And I'm a rookie—I can't say anything. He winked at me and started laughing. That's when I was like, all right, welcome to the league."
This experience mirrors that of many players across the league who, like Dekker, have the unforgiving but unforgettable job of guarding their team's star in practice.
For every Harden, there's a Dekker or K.J. McDaniels who is trying his best to limit or stifle someone in a nearly impossible matchup. Despite its challenges, it's ...
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Article written by David Vertsberger