Gabe’s Favs: Alysha Clark, Nikola Jović, and Ludvig Hånkanson
The NBA season is over, but basketball never stops being awesome.
Ball and Order is a newsletter about basketball that strives to cover the game no matter who is playing or where they’re playing it. My name is Gabe Ibrahim. I record podcasts for Her Hoop Stats, make picks on Spread The Floor and I also make videos about basketball. Please subscribe for free and tell your friends! Follow me on Tik Tok and YouTube. Check out my body of work on Gondola!
Alysha Clark, Washington Mystics
Clark is up there on the all-time list of Gabe’s Favs. She’s the type of player who does everything for a team. Her defense has been elite for years now and it’s truly a gift to watch her on that side of the ball in person. She’s the best ball denier in the WNBA, takes tough perimeter assignments and hampers bigs in the post when she gets switched on them. She’s so tough defensively that Elena Delle Donne jokingly blamed some of her back problems on battles with Clark before they teamed up (as you can see on this possession from 2017).
However, I’m ceding a long discussion of Clark’s defense right now to Jenn Hatfield of the Next because she’s put actual journalism into her story and it will excellent. Plus I already profiled her for Queen Ballers Club in 2021 and greatly admire her journey to the WNBA. I’ll definitely write about her defense at some point this season, though.
I do think that other WNBA players should read that profile or at least someone’s profile on Clark because they’re getting killed by her post ups. According to Synergy Sports, she ranks 3rd in points per possession on post ups (among players with at least 10 post up possessions). Clark makes 72.7% of her shot attempts on post ups, which leads the WNBA this year. Furthermore, she’s been in the 89th percentile or better of post-up points per possession every season since establishing herself as a starter in 2015.
Clark doesn’t spend a ton of time in the post. But she’s so efficient down there because she was not always a perimeter player. In college, Clark won four conference player of the year awards primarily as a post scorer. She had to transition to a perimeter role in the WNBA due to her height. Now, WNBA guards are paying the price when they guard her.
“When I have a guard on me, I always feel like I have the advantage because I was a post player in my previous life,” said Clark after toasting the Chicago Sky for 18 points. “There are just different nuances like understanding angles, footwork, and those types of things that a guard who happens to be tall and posts doesn't understand.”
Clark doesn’t need great position to score in the post because of her expert finishing ability. Kahleah Copper is listed at two inches taller than Clark, but Clark can shoot over her with a spinning hook. You can also see Clark’s tactical knowledge in that clip. Copper overplays her inside step every so slightly, so Clark turns and shoots over her outside shoulder.
Clark’s footwork is on display here. She does her work early and gets a great seal on Kayla McBride as soon as Shakira Austin clears the area. Then, Clark creates a little more space with a push and hop step as she catches the entry pass. Minnesota sends help, but Clark doesn’t panic and steps through into a layup on the opposite side of the rim. That’s a picture perfect post up.
Like I said before, Clark does whatever the Mystics need her to do. Her defense has helped Washington jump up to second in defensive rating and her three point shooting will be more important than her post ups for Washington’s future. But Clark’s post ups stabilize the team when Elena Delle Donne sits. Those plays also helped stabilize Clark’s game as she comes back from a foot injury that held her out of the 2021 season. It’s very cool to see how Clark’s inspiring journey to the WNBA still informs what is happening on the court. Hopefully, Washington can keep finding her opportunities down low.
Nikola Jović, Miami Heat
As a Miami Heat fan, I am required to believe that any NBA superstar that becomes available will come to Miami. Obviously, I spent hours creating trades in the immediate wake of Kevin Durant’s trade request. I had a long discussion with myself where I decided that getting Kevin Durant would probably be worth trading Bam Adebayo, which was extremely hard to admit. I cried a little bit.
Then, I found out the rule barring a team from acquiring two players who signed “designated rookie extension” via trade. That means the Nets could not acquire Bam Adebayo (or Devin Booker, Trae Young, and Jayson Tatum) while Ben Simmons remains on the roster. This is the NBA’s “neither can live while the other survives” prophecy in that I couldn’t understand why it existed until it became necessary. However, the rule seems to be working if the goal is to prevent franchises from trading their homegrown stars. Anyway, I’ve completely changed positions and now believe that we should never trade Bam Adebayo for anyone other than prime Michael Jordan.
Regardless, the Heat don’t need Kevin Durant. They have Nikola Jović. Yes, Jović’s main accomplishment thus far is having the same name save for one letter as the reigning back-to-back MVP. But the Serbian 19-year old showed off the stroke and skills that make him a potential long-term fit next to Bam Adebayo in Summer League.
25 points on 9 of 16 shooting and 5 of 7 from three. Jović also grabbed six offensive rebounds. The most encouraging part of this game is that all of his threes were off catch-and-shoot opportunities. Jović played with the ball in his hands often in Europe, which will not happen with the Miami Heat. He needs to continue speeding up his release for the NBA, but this is a good proof of concept.
Jović’s defense is not close to where it needs to be yet. He stands around and ball watches often, which seem like easy problems to fix. Maybe he’ll never be a plus-defender, but he’s 19 and has the body to defend decently. His destiny might be “large Duncan Robinson,” but that would be excellent for Miami if they need to trade normal-sized Duncan Robinson.
Ludwig Hånkanson, Swedish Men’s National Team
I splurged $40 on the FIBA streaming service, so I rang in Independence Day by watching European basketball. The World Cup qualifiers featured some truly awesome games including Lauri Markkanen hitting a game winner for Finland against Croatia. The Fins already booked their trip to the second round, but their victory ensured that Hånkanson’s Swedish side advanced and that’s a win for fans.
Hankånson posted a cool line of 24 points, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds in Sweden’s loss to Slovenia and Luka Dončić. He had a few stunning jumpers as the Swedes kept fighting back. Hånkanson also had both Dragic brothers running around in circles in pick-and-rolls.
Hånkanson also set the table expertly for Sweden. The reads in international basketball seem to happen more suddenly for some reason. Hånkanson snapped off skip and lob passes from all angles in the pick-and-roll.
Hånkanson plays for Bilbao in the north of Spain. He probably won’t be in the NBA at any point and, at age 26, he’s already older than Luka Dončić. He won’t come close to Goran Dragic’s career accomplishments or even those of Zoran Dragic. But for a brief moment, Hånkanson was every bit their equal. That’s one of the beautiful things of this game.