Kyrie Irving‘s game-winner against the Denver Nuggets has drawn praise for him from all over the NBA community. The one-handed floater has been the talking point in the basketball world for the last few hours as new takes continue to pour in. Recently, Jay Williams, an ex-Chicago Bulls player made a tall claim, stating that the Dallas Mavericks star is the most skilled player in history. However, going by the responses, it doesn’t seem to be the popular opinion.
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On a recent episode of the Get Up ESPN show, Williams said that he has been always impressed by Kyrie’s game and what he showcased today just reaffirms his belief.
He said, “By the way, [he is] the most skilled player in the history of basketball. Come at me and say whatever the hell that you want, there’s no player in the game of basketball as skilled.”
Williams asked people to come at him and they did. Fans responded to the clip with who they think is just as skilled if not more than the Mavs star.
One fan, seemingly a Michael Jordan fan said that the most skilled player title belongs to the great man because basketball is played equally at both ends of the court.
Clearly, fans aren’t in agreement with Williams’ claims. One fan even termed his enthusiasm in declaring Kyrie as the most skilled to just be an overreaction.
There have been several athletes over the NBA’s rich history who dominated the league in more ways than one. The late, great Kobe Bryant‘s name is always mentioned very high up on that list. So, it was baffling for a fan to see Williams making such a claim when Kobe is right there for the spot.
Despite a fair amount of backlash coming his way, Williams remained true to his initial stance. When one fan said that Kyrie might be top five all the time but giving him the top spot is a reach, he responded by daring the fan to name four players who are better.
Kyrie Irving’s peers believe he’s the most skilled player
There is no denying that what we saw from Kyrie in yesterday’s game is rare. In any era of basketball, a left-handed running floater over a 6’11 Nikola Jokic is unfathomable. However, the Mavs star did give the fans that moment of excellence and it’s fair that people are freaking out over it. What added more value to his shot is that it was a buzzer-beater to help his team win against the defending champions.
For those reasons, Kyrie deserves all the praise coming his way, and they are coming in abundance.
After the game winner, Damian Lillard took to X to applaud Kyrie for executing the almost impossible looking shot. He wrote, “Kyrie the most skilled mf ever bra…”
Apart from Lillard, Jalen Brunson also used the platform to share his disbelief. He wrote, “Kyrie that is sooooooo tough.”
He is indeed very tough and an incredibly skilled player to pull that off. Is he the most skilled player ever? We’ll continue to hear new opinions and perspectives on this topic for a very long time.
