"The Way You Move" by Outkast is my favorite song of all-time. There isn't a single tune recorded in the history of this great green earth that gets my head bobbing quite like it.
The way I think that I move when I hear that song is how Royce O'Neale plays basketball.
With funk. With flair. In a way that often leaves opponents guessing at what his next move is going to be.
All it took was two preseason games for me to become infatuated with O'Neale's unconventional style of basketball. A style that adds a much needed offbeat to Charles Lee's regimented symphony of an offensive system.
"I love having him around. His presence, the way he competes..I think he's had a couple of really nice passes, some (offensive) creation...I love, love, what Royce has given to our team," said Charles Lee today after a team-wide film session at the Spectrum Center.
He said it in front of O'Neale, who crashed Lee's media availability and moonlighted as a reporter for a few minutes on Tuesday afternoon.
With a wry smile on his face and O'Neale's phone taking a fake recording just feet away, Lee joked: "As you can tell, he just impacts everything. Defense, offense, media sessions, the guy just has a knack for getting involved."
He's been deeply involved through to preseason games.
In last night's victory over Milwaukee, O'Neale finished with nine points, a rebound, an assist, and a steal in 17 minutes on the floor. Charlotte won his minutes by 19 points, the highest figure on the team, making it abundantly clear that his two-way impact was felt on the stat sheet.
The defining feature of O'Neale's game is his deep bag of pump fakes that frankly have left me questionable for Wednesday night's game with a neck sprain. Royce doesn't create or extend advantages with a quick first step or a tight handle; he sends opposing teams into rotation by faking defenders out of their shoes with heady pass and shot dekes.
What happens after those fakes is what makes O'Neale such an intriguing fit in Charlotte.
He has proven to be a great live dribble passer who knows exactly where his open teammates are. Once Royce gets a defender out of position with a ball fake, he has consistently made the right read to find one the Hornets' downtown snipers open behind the arc, evidenced by the five three-pointers he assisted on in Charlotte's preseason opener against Brooklyn.
"He's a willing passer and he plays the game the right way. Having a 10, 12-year vet like him around us is great for (the team). He's been around the game, he knows what it takes to get to where we want to be, so having him around is great for us," said Brandon Miller after the win over Milwaukee.
But not before saying that O'Neale is actually a better shooter than himself.
O'Neale is one of a couple veterans that the Hornets acquired this summer, and he's been the one that has been discussed the least. A fact that makes sense when you compare him to former Sixth Man of the Year Naz Reid and Grayson Allen, a figure in North Carolina's basketball lore that people love to hate.
He is far from the flashiest offseason acquisition in the long history of the Charlotte Hornets, but despite the lack of fanfare, O'Neale will absolutely impact the franchise in his time here, both on and off the floor. His game is funky, his wisdom is fruitful, and before long, I believe he will be a fan favorite in the Queen City.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/hornets/onsi as Royce O'Neale's Funky Game Has Him On the Fast Track to Becoming a Fan Favorite in Charlotte .
