“Kyrie’s the greatest ballhandler in NBA history and arguably the greatest finisher among point guards” – Chris Broussard praises Kyrie Irving, will only take Isiah Thomas and Steph Curry over him
Chris Broussard praised Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving’s greatness on Tuesday’s episode of “First Things First.”
Broussard explained why he was “shocked” by Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups calling Irving the best point guard of all time. Broussard said:
“Kyrie’s the greatest ballhandler in NBA history, and arguably the greatest finisher among point guards.”
Kyrie Irving is the best ballhandler of all-time
Kyrie Irving’s ballhandling ability is unquestioned. Irving has become the star of flair-like spins and fancy dribbles. He handles the ball well and drives aggressively to the net, finishing the majority of his attempts.
But Broussard questioned what criteria Billups used to judge a point guard. Billups is a former guard who was the NBA Finals MVP when leading the Detroit Pistons to the 2004 championship.
Chris Broussard said:
“If I wanna point out the three major skills for a point guard, I would say: shooting, passing, ball handling. … He’s obviously not the best shooter – that’s Steph. … Kyrie is not that point guard that has that incredible vision, that Magic Johnson, that Steve Nash (had). He’s not even the best passer on his team right now … that’s James Harden.”
Irving has career averages of 22.8 points per game (shooting 47.0%) and only 5.7 assists per game. Averaging such a low number of assists leaves something to be desired. In Broussard's opinion, Detroit Hall of Famer Isiah Tomas and Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry deserve to be ahead of Irving in the debate.
“Everybody talks about Kyrie’s finishing, and he’s phenomenal," Broussard. "But Isiah Thomas was shorter than Kyrie and had carried a team and had to finish back when there would be 6-8 other guys in the paint.”
Interestingly enough, Thomas averaged stats close to that of Irving's. Thomas’ stat line reads career averages of 18.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists. In comparison to Irving’s stats, Thomas’ are lower in every category. Broussard made a point of outlining his opinion being rooted in the difficulty Thomas overcame.
Curry, on the other hand, is arguably in a conversation of his own. Curry boasts the highest career averages with 24.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game. The seven-time All-Star and the NBA's all-time 3-point leader has played confidently in the clutch for his entire career.
The Golden State Warriors (30-9) are tied with the Phoenix Suns for the NBA's best record. Curry has shown himself to be a clutch leader as usual, showing up regardless of the help he has. Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and breakout player Andrew Wiggins have helped Curry this season, but he has notably been the driving force.
Curry averages 26.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists this season. During his last matchup against Memphis, he tallied 41 points, shooting 47.1%, including 44.1% from 3-point range.
Irving returned to Brooklyn on a part-time basis earlier this month. His first appearance was at the Indiana Pacers, scoring 22 points, with four assists, and three rebounds in 32 minutes of play – not bad for his first game of the season.
Irving has been a dominant force for the three teams he has played for. The trio of Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden have been troubled with injuries and COVID protocols throughout their tenure together. If they all can stay healthy, that may allow Irving to continue making his stamp on the argument for best point guard of all time.