“Allen Iverson carried a franchise night in, night out”: Stephen A. Smith gives Sixers legend the edge over Nets star Kyrie Irving

Stephen A. Smith implies he would pick Allen Iverson over Kyrie Irving because Iverson carried the Sixers to a Finals by himself. 

Ever since a 19-year-old Kyrie Irving made his way to the league, NBA fans have flooded social media with comparisons between the 1x champ and Philly legend Allen Iverson.

This is, of course, due to the fact that the two crafty point guards have a similar skillset in terms of handles. Both were perhaps the best ball handlers of their generation, with Kyrie Irving trying to hold this title well into the 2020s. 

Whether it’s Iverson’s ‘killer crossover’ or Kyrie’s signature in-and-out crossover, both have put a multitude of All Defense caliber player on skates at least once. The question regarding the two has always been centered around who had the better handles. 

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However, as Kyrie started to rack up more and more accomplishments during the course of his career, the question morphed into, “Who’s better overall: Kyrie or AI?” 

Stephen A. Smith makes his pick on who he would rather have between Kyrie Irving and Allen Iverson

Stephen A. Smith took to Twitter to address a fan’s tweet that asked if Kyrie Irving is better than Allen Iverson at this point. 

“Kyrie Irving may be a better scorer, but who’s more dependable? Who carried a franchise on his shoulders night in and night out? He basically carried his team to the Finals by his damn self” 

Better…..sure, skill-wise. Better handle. Better J. Hell, even a better scorer. But who’s more dependable? Who carried a franchise on his shoulders night-in + night-out? Who said, ‘Give it all to me’ then basically carried his team to the Finals by his damn self? https://t.co/Cnr5kxUcWv

— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) March 23, 2021

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This is perhaps the biggest argument when it comes to comparing the two. Kyrie Irving never had to drag a team to the NBA Finals like Allen Iverson had to, back when he faced off against the 2001 Los Angeles Lakers. When given the opportunity to be the head honcho of a team like the Boston Celtics, Irving couldn’t make it past the 2nd round.