mobile app bar

$90M worth Nets star still uses Kobe Bryant’s praises like “Every option a defense chooses against Kyrie Irving is the wrong one” as motivation

Akash Murty
Published

$90M worth Nets star still uses Kobe Bryant’s praises like “Every option a defense chooses against Kyrie Irving is the wrong one” as motivation

The ambidextrous abilities of Kyrie Irving make him arguably the most skilled ball handler but his shooting is the x-factor that makes him unguardable if you believe Kobe Bryant.

There are only a handful of NBA players who could claim that they can engage viewers more than Kyrie Irving with a basketball in his hands can.

Allen Iverson or a Michael Jordan could do that, still, that list is very short. The stuff Brooklyn’s 6ft 3” point guard does on a basketball court with such ease is too difficult for any great defender to stop.

Because of his mesmerizing ball handling skills and ambidextrous gameplay which allows him to go either side of a defender, his jump shots have become an underrated weapon in his arsenal.

He is a career 39.3% shooter from the 3-point line on 5.7 attempts per game which is as good as any 3-point specialist. He also converts half of the 2-point attempts from the field. That is the reason why, his idol cum mentor cum friend, Kobe Bryant believed the former Celtics and Cavaliers star was unstoppable.

Also read: Kyrie Irving’s mammoth $90M net worth stems from shrewd investment in $2.1 billion food brand

 

Twitter says Kyrie Irving has the best off-hand in the game, Uncle Drew reminds them of his lethal jumper as well citing a Kobe Bryant clip

The Lakers superstar always admired Irving as a basketball player. But this video by ESPN in which the 5x NBA champ and one of the unarguable Top-10 players of all-time broke the basics of Uncle Drew’s game highlighting his shooting prowess is mind-boggling and still not an overpraise.

View on Website

The video is from two years before Bryant passed away in the horrific helicopter crash back in 2020. But Irving still uses it as motivation whenever some tries to put shade on his skills or capabilities.

Recently, he engaged in fan conversation on Twitter which was not a typical Kyrie-bashing thread, but one which was praising him for having the best ‘off hand’ in the game. To which Kai responded by posting the link to that amazing video by Kobe.

Also read: “Kyrie 9s are not what Kyrie Irving fans deserve!”: NBA sneaker fans sound off as Nike damn near botches 6’2″ Nets star’s last sneaker

It’s ironic that since The Black Mamba left the world, the sensational guard has played a combined 83 games in the last 2 years for reasons that didn’t sit well with most in the NBA community. And as usual, Kyrie Irving did not care too much about those things.

About the author

Akash Murty

Akash Murty

x-iconfacebook-iconinstagram-iconlinkedin-icon

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

Read more from Akash Murty

Share this article