Partly agreeing with LeBron James, Skip Bayless fires backhanded compliment at Kyrie Irving - "Greatest all-around athlete was Deion Sanders"
LA Lakers superstar forward LeBron James recently proclaimed his former teammate Kyrie Irving the NBA's "most gifted player" ever. FS1's Skip Bayless agreed, albeit with a caveat, giving the Dallas Mavericks star guard a slightly backhanded compliment.
On this week's episode of his podcast "Mind the Game," James reflected on his three-year tenure (2014 to 2017) playing alongside Irving on the Cleveland Cavaliers. He touched on how "mad" he is that Irving is "not his running mate anymore" after watching Dallas' 2024 NBA Finals run.
The four-time MVP then raved about Irving's talent, particularly his offensive versatility.
"He's the most gifted player the NBA has ever seen," James said. "He has the best gifts I've ever seen in any NBA player.
"I've never seen a guy in my NBA life that feels better at times shooting with his off-hand than he does with his primary. If Kyrie is off in a game with his right hand, he will literally go exclusively to his left hand. I've never seen anything like that."
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On Wednesday, Bayless, a renowned James critic, weighed in on the 20-time All-Star's comments. The 72-year-old noted that if players' size is considered, he agrees with James that Irving is the league's all-time most gifted player.
However, Bayless added that he would still choose NFL legend Deion Sanders over Irving if given a choice between any athlete.
"I'm with LeBron, though with a qualifier: Inch for inch, at 6-foot-2, Kyrie is the NBA's most gifted player ever," Bayless said. "But most gifted ever in any sport, making him the greatest all-around athlete ever, was Deion Sanders."
Despite his size, Kyrie Irving has thrived as a crafty, efficient No. 2 scoring option in this year's playoffs. Through 17 games, he is averaging 22.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.6 3-pointers per game on 48.5% shooting.
Irving and his co-star Luka Doncic have averaged a combined 51.6 ppg while leading the fifth-seeded Mavericks (50-32) on a surprise finals run. They will next look to knock off the league-best Celtics (64-18).
If they do so with Irving playing at a high level, conversations will likely continue about his placement among the pound-for-pound most skilled players ever.
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Kyrie Irving responds to LeBron James' praise
To open Wednesday's NBA Finals media availability session, Kyrie Irving was asked about LeBron James' latest praise, expressing gratitude.
"I mean, I had a great reaction. It's appreciated. There's a lot of gratitude there as well," Kyrie Irving said.
The eight-time All-Star also highlighted how he has grown to appreciate his time playing with James despite not always seeing eye to eye.
"Obviously, I'm in a different age, different place in my life. So is he. I think we both have been able to mature and really appreciate what we got a chance to accomplish," Irving said.
"I think there were some things that got in the way of our relationship when I was a little bit younger. Now that I'm able to vocalize how I feel as a man, be comfortable in it, stand on my square, my beliefs, where I'm coming from, I feel like our relationship's different because of that now."
James and Irving made the finals all three years they played together, leading Cleveland to its first NBA championship in 2016. Irving has had an up-and-down career since parting ways with James in 2017. However, he now has a chance to further his legacy by winning his first title apart from the four-time champion.
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