Kyrie Irving‘s ball-handling is inarguably his best trait. Many believe no other guard in league history has had as smooth and potent dribbling ability as the Mavericks superstar. However, some, like Gilbert Arenas, argue that Allen Iverson holds the throne.
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The retired NBA star believes there’s a huge gap between Iverson and Irving’s ball-handling ability. On the Gil’s Arena podcast, he claimed in terms of skill, the veteran is the equivalent of a snail compared to the Hall of Famer.
While Iverson has already anointed Irving as the greatest dribbler in NBA history, Arenas believes the 76ers icon is infinitely more skilled than the Mavericks guard. He said,
“Kyrie [Irving] is a snail compared to f****ng Allen Iverson…Think about how many combo moves Kyrie has to do to get by somebody? One move, this is all AI had to do.”
Brandon Jennings challenged Arenas’ take, claiming Irving’s era is filled with taller guards, and getting shots up is more difficult.
“Kyrie [Irving] is a snail compared to f*cking Allen Iverson… How many combo moves [does he have] to do to get by somebody? One move, this is all AI had to do… You couldn’t touch [AI].”
Gilbert Arenas on Iverson being better than Kyrie 🤔pic.twitter.com/DjyJ1vMPMP
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 18, 2024
However, Arenas stuck to his gun and claimed Iverson had a bigger skillset than the Mavericks superstar. He added that the Hall of Famer was so elusive that guards couldn’t touch him when he was on the move. The retired star’s take isn’t popular as many believe Irving is by far the best ball-handler in league history.
Skip Bayless and Iverson believe Irving has the best handles ever
When delivering hot takes, Skip Bayless is in the same bracket as Gilbert Arenas. However, he’s surprisingly among the majority who believe that Irving is the most skilled guard in NBA history. On an episode of Undisputed, the analyst said,
“Kyrie has a handle that even AI did not have, to me, and it’s close but Kyrie’s handles is spectacular, off the charts, never seen before.”
The debate tilts further in the Mavericks guard’s favor as Iverson has stated he’s the best ball-handler ever. During an appearance on The Big Podcast with Shaq, the retired guard crowned the veteran the dribbling king. Explaining his stance, he said,
“Kyrie will have you beat, and then bring it back and play with it. He’s toying with people, you know what I mean? He can still just go, but if he feels like playing with you…”
Even though O’Neal disagreed with Iverson’s take that Irving has the best handles, the 49-year-old didn’t budge from his take and crowned the Mavericks star the most player ever.
