10 toughest players to guard in the NBA

Undoubtedly, offense is the glamourous half of basketball. Crafty handles, 40-inch vertical leaps and fadeaway jumpshots are what the average basketball fan is looking for when he’s watching the game, rather than zone defense and shot-clock violations. The NBA’s best offensive players are so good, it’s virtually impossible to defend them in a one-on-one scenario. When playing isolation offense, they can blow aside defenders making them look silly. When in transition, they can get the ball through the hoop in a hurry.Opposition teams devise their defensive schemes in order to keep these guys quiet, and they know their best efforts might be in vain. On their night, these players are more than capable of netting 40 points. Some can dish out a dozen dimes. Some can punish teams from the perimeter, and some cannot be stopped from slashing into the paint. The following players have been omitted for a variety of reasons:Kobe Bryant: Perhaps the best clutch player of the league even at his advanced age and after all the mileage his body has gone through, Kobe misses out on account of being too inefficient this season. You just don’t associate a 37.9% shooting clip with an unguardable player.Dwyane Wade: Like Kobe, he’s no longer the force he once was. Even with his 23-points-per-game average thus far this season, he seems to be less of a threat than, say, 3 seasons ago.Derrick Rose: Yet to make a return to his destructive best, the 2010-11 MVP needs to get his shooting touch back to get past the players on this list. Kevin Love: A reduced role in the Big 3 at the Cavaliers means he is no longer the same nightly threat to put a double-double on the box scores. Misses out on account of being underused alone.John Wall: Although he is arguably the best point guard of the Eastern Conference right now, he needs better than a 29.4% 3-point shooting percentage to break into our top 10.Dirk Nowitzki: It’s a tough call to exclude the NBA’s greatest overseas player ever, but I’m doing so on account of his lack of playmaking prowess. Let’s take a look at the NBA’s most unguardable players. Keep in mind that this list is not necessarily a best scorers’ list.Disclaimer: The opinions based in this article are of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the views of Sportskeeda.

#10 Kyrie Irving

If you were to wake up in the morning to find the NBA transformed into a streetballers’ league, you ought to back Kyrie Irving for MVP. He’s got the best handles in the league, and that’s a statement that looks quite bold on the surface when you remember that we’re calling him better than Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul and Steph Curry.

Once you dig deeper, you realize that he’s only been off the spotlight because he hasn’t played for a winning team. Irving showed off his impeccable handles in the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge 2 All-Star Weekends ago, and earned the MVP award in the All-Star Game last season.

Kyrie has become a notorious exponent of the crossover. Along with his handles, Irving is averaging over 20 points per game and is an ever-present in Cleveland’s Big 3. With much of the playmaking load taken off his shoulders taken off by LeBron, along with lower exposure on the defensive end of the game, Irving is having perhaps the best season of his career in the best squad he’s ever been afforded the chance to play with.

Although his 3-point percentage has dipped below 35% for the first time in his career, he forces enough fouls to get to the free-throw line, from where he averages nearly 85%. He has continued his pre-eminent dominance in clutch time this season. Come playoff time, he would represent a nightmare matchup to any point guard in the East.