Washington Wizards point guard Spencer Dinwiddie talks about going up against Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on practices
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Spencer Dinwiddie, one of the few crafty and intelligent point guards of the league also had the chance to play alongside and go up against the most crafty duo in the NBA.
The former Brooklyn Nets guard, who now plays for the Washington Wizards after getting traded this off-season, recently joined the Knuckleheads podcast. Spencer talked about the scrimmages he had with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving during practice sessions in Brooklyn.
The Wizards guard talked highly of Irving, saying that most people who guard Kyrie wish he misses his shot, as the dazzling point guard is as skilled as they come.
“Kyrie’s probably the most skilled basketball player that I’ve ever seen. You got to use certain advantages that you have at the time. As long as you stay a little solid, make sure he don’t put you on skates, which is a hard thing to do – cause best handles ever. You contest high, you contest a little late and hope he miss.”
Kevin Durant is Dinwiddie’s only one-on-one loss
Dinwiddie then talked about the one-on-one battles with Kevin Durant. He chuckled about how “he ran the table” against every teammate he ever had but found it difficult to guard a 7-footer with that kind of jumper, who shoots well over his head.
“Depending on how you view basketball, in terms of scoring versatility from like paint, mid-range, three, deep threes, etc., like nah, like he’s got the entire package, and he’s really a 7-foot two-guard.”
After averaging almost 27 points per game last season, the Slim Reaper is now leading the league in scoring with 29.7 points per game. He is also leading the race for the MVP this season.
Dinwiddie then answers Quentin Richardson’s point about how Kevin Durant might not even see Dinwiddie while taking a jumper.
“No, and the other cold part about this is he kicks his leg out. So like you talking about seven-foot, slight fake, kick the leg – no, you’re not even there. You gotta try to do your work early because once he gets to his shot, if you can’t stop it, then he don’t see you. So that’s how I took my only one-on-one loss.”
While Dinwiddie did not say how his scrimmages with Kyrie used to end, his only one-on-one loss statement pretty much clears it up.
That’s no knock on Kyrie though, that is how the players who are picked up late in the second round of the draft or go undrafted, play in practices. That’s how they earn the respect from coaches leaders in the team.
