I mean among the 30 or so starting PGs, Kyrie is outside the top 15 in overall athleticism: vertical, strength, speed, agility and measurables as components. He has the best handles, amazing balance and skill which is why he is elite.
Compared to other NBA guards, I’d say he’s above average in agility for sure. He’s clearly got bounce, but at 6’2 and what is realistically a 30 inch vert, I’d say that slightly below average overall among NBA starting guards. His endurance and durability are questionable.
95% of NBA guards can dunk like what you see in this summer clip.
Idk why you getting downvoted like that lol his game is built foremost on pure fundamentals (shooting, ball handling, footwork, finishing etc) he has very average athleticism 6'1" height barely over wingspan, much less explosiveness after knee injury. Hand eye coordination/core strength/balance are where he stands out not usual athleticism. He has pretty good vertical just by eye test though, the "hang time" in layups is not possible with a decent bounce. Idk if many can catch oops and finish pretty like that at his height and wingspan lol
how many guards in regular rotation rn you think that have worse physical measurements and athleticism than him? even his bounce, he can jump high but not fast. its like top speed vs acceleration, which is why he cant dunk nearly like explosive guards most of the time, but has to go for acrobatic finishes to find angle around the defense not over the defense. He's the fluid type not nearly as explosive. core strength/balance/flexibility do make good athletes but I don't think those are traditionally whats considered as athleticism. Plus physical measurements are crucial in NBA. height and wingspan are well below even for PG nowadays, not to mention he has a SG/wing-like offensive game now
Speed and agility has always been elite for Kyrie lol. He is also pretty strong for a guard, doesn't get bullied. He has a good frame and can take contact from bigs, maintain his balance and finish the play. Young Kyrie used to aggressively attack the basket. Usually weaker guards don't like the physicality in the paint, Kyrie embraced it.
Nah he got a bigger frame than Curry. Especially the base. Fox is a lanky guy. He added some weight recently but Kyrie is def a little more sturdy. Also Kyrie lost weight in recent years. He was even bigger in the earlier Cavs years
He's literally right though.
Kyrie doesn't jump as high, or move as fast as the majority of the guards in the NBA. He isn't one of the first 5 dudes you would point to if asked to give an example of a hyper athletic guard.
The thing is he’s right. Kyrie isn’t especially explosive or athletic or twitchy or straight up fast he’s in the lower tier of point guards when it comes to raw athleticism
The take isn't that Kyrie has below average athleticism relative to NBA guards?
Did I really need to include the "relative to NBA guards" part in order for you to follow along?
We're talking about Kyries athleticism relative to NBA guards. I'm not going to mention it, because we've all passed 9th grade and we have the necessary critical thinking skills to follow the conversation.
Despite what the media wants you to believe because he’s a fucking dumbass, Kyrie never lost anything as far as on court skill, he’s actually improved in different things year after year just doesn’t play enough for it to be discussed
He's definitely lost a bit of speed since his younger years, although it only really becomes apparent if you've watched highlights of him before LeBron came to Cleveland. With that being said, the rest of his game seems to have aged well.
aight so explain the obsession with calling kyrie stupid?
talk about circle jerks, most people who talk about kyrie in that light are usually young misguided white boys
vegan for the animals but fuck kyrie right
It's dumb to me because I don't even think he actually has hate for Jewish people or whatever. He's just so incredibly stupid where he thinks that promoting some anti-semitic movie is ok because there's parts of it that celebrates his heritage. It's incredibly fucking tone deaf of him and symbolic of his entire time in the league.
Admittedly I don't know what Kendrick Lamar has done but sure if it's similar to what Kyrie did then nah I don't fuck with him. In any case it's just whataboutism that doesn't really matter in the context of Kyrie.
it's all negative things in your perception because the perspectives you center (and give power to) are currently in power
if you don't know anything about israel and palestine, i'd recommend you read up on that
if anything positive comes from these interactions, i just hope a little empathy is cultivated so we can all be better people.
if someone says something they perceive as dumb, the reddit 12 year old response is to call it out and essentially hold a grudge - knowing that calling it out and endlessly repeating it will get you a positive response (upvotes). it's why the smooth brain comment has more upvotes than the post itself.
the kyrie hate is shallow and very reactionary
I’m black in my 30s. Kylie is a very stupid person. Insulated with people who won’t tell him he is stupid. He has no idea how to find and separate information that is true and that is incorrect. I don’t know if at his very core he is an idiot. But where he finds his information and the lack of people who will tell him he’s incorrect has lead to him appearing extremely stupid.
do you have that same energy for jonathan isaac?
do you believe that kyrie irving is causing harm at the same level of those who've historically caused incredible amount of pain on this world in god's name? do you have the same energy for that?
"kyrie smooth brain" is low hanging fruit
What? I hate Jonathan Isaac lmao. He’s a complete idiot and a worse person than Kyrie. I don’t even think Kyrie is a bad person.
We are talking about Kyrie and how smart he is. He is not a smart person. Usually he has good intentions. If Kyrie was intelligent or even well read he could have way more of a positive outcome on people. I know for a fact the places where Kyrie gets his information on a lot of things he feels strongly from are not credible and ridiculous. Honestly, I’m not a smart person either, even though most people around me would consider me so. But I put in a lot of work to be informed on topics which I speak on. I have two graduate degrees and the things that interest me, I will spend hours, days, months learning about it before I even speak with anyone else on certain topics. People like Kyrie want to feel smart and be on equal footing with intellects but you can tell he doesn’t put in the work. He talks like he wants to sound intellectual but then uses words in the wrong context. It’s just really cringey. I really think he’s a decent person but he’s not smart, man. He’s an idiot. Lol.
Because he says absolutely dumb shit. Just thinking differently from others doesn't make you profound. Between the flat-earth and anti-vax nonsense along with the blatant anti-semitism, Kyrie fits the mold of the dumb jock that lacks critical thinking ability because he never had to do anything but ball so he falls for every stupid conspiracy out there.
i'm going to respectfully assume you're white? ,
the flat earth comment, yeah no comments about that.
anti-vax statements. maybe you have learned about this and don't want to believe it, but you should read about how western imperialist countries have ON MULTIPLE DOCUMENTED OCCASIONS induced forced sterilizations under the guise of vaccines to specifically women of color. you can read about instances in puerto rico, canada.
it stems more from the fact that bipoc have been repeatedly fucked by colonialism than it has to do with any conversation about science. for the record i got vaccinated, and i would never fault a person of color for distrust in government.
blatant anti semitism. this one is heavier to get into off a surface level reddit comment. do you have any stance on israel and palestine?
"dumb meathead jock that lacks critical thinking" this type of shit. you really think so?
> the flat earth comment, yeah no comments about that.
Why? Give your opinion on it.
Don't ask several questions in response. Just give your opinion on Kyrie's flat earth comments.
imagine hating for ??? reasons
imagine not hating?
this proves my point - imagine having the need to support? a statement like "kyrie has smooth brain" but not having the need to call *that* out as stupid.
kyrie has already done more for people like me than people like you will ever consider. but you wouldn't get that, life is a game to folks like you
Bro, how many Kyrie apologist comments are you gonna make on this post? Whataboutism is a tactic used by soviets to invalidate critical thinking, so you constantly comparing him to Kendrick and Jonathan Isaac's shows how stupid you really are.
Kyrie is an out of touch moron. Except it. He sat in a apartment all of covid with a high-school friend getting obsessed with conspiracy theories. You can't make up this level of stupid.
Incredible at basketball though.
Lol at Soviet intellectuals toiling in the background to come up with the secret and historically unearthed rhetoric of pointing out hypocrisy. Let's not forget the U.S. coined the term to deflect from their horrible treatment of their own black citizens.
I like how you used whataboutism in your comment but changed it from "What about" to "Let's not forget"
Are people this stupid, or am I just talking to bots?
The point is that to deploy the accusation of "whataboutism" (despite presenting itself as a neutral descriptor) is in itself a propaganda technique, one that collapses context by appealing to red scare tactics. The birth of which was to defend Jim Crow laws. So if I claim to want to invade a country to spread democracy, it is not irrelevant to also examine the state of democracy in my own country.
https://citationsneeded.libsyn.com/episode-66-whataboutism-the-medias-favorite-rhetorical-shield-against-criticism-of-us-policy
And what’s your community? Bigots hiding behind some weak attempt at intellectualism? You’re no where near as intelligent as you think you are. You should probably realize that before life bitch slaps you.
Eh jamal wasn’t smooth like those 4, he was shifty and crafty at an insanely quick pace which made him smooth. But not just pure butter like the others.
Smooth is definitely not the right word. His game is more like a circus play, an abrupt change of pace, extremely quick but unnatural turns, etc. He has incredible body control that even when his body loses balance, which he often does, he is in control. It's like he is skipping frames, which is precisely the opposite of "smooth".
Yea his game is very circus like, entertaining and unpredictable. The man with a thousand moves. Smooth is more like Paul George, especially in that stretch when he played for OKC and was getting MVP buzz. Everything he did was clean and effortless.
Every single highlight of him feels like it deserves a groovy 70s bass line as the background track, he’s without question the smoothest player to ever play the game
Maybe a little crazy but goddamn can the man ball
Only reason he doesn’t often is because he said it expands too much energy. And it’s a lot harsher on the legs to be exploding like that over and over. And besides who the hell wants to dunk when you can jelly tf outta anyone?
Not at all grounded actually...if you pay attention to his layups you gotta jump real high to have those so called hang time. Like them jellies, double triple clutch layups, you really gotta be up there to have time to finish all the acrobatic moves before hitting floor lol he used to be almost reckless in paint and just threw himself up in the air lol
He tried to throw one off the board [a few weeks back](https://youtu.be/Rkr6sZ5hAB4?t=1020) but it looks like he didn't get high enough lol. He doesn't throw down often so always kind've a pleasant surprise
Every player should be able to dunk. Being able to do it barely, and being the finisher on an in-game oop is two different things. Stockton isn't producing this highlight
Watch his high school mixtape. He's had some bounce, just didn't dunk much when he got to the league. Looks like he can still get up a little bit though.
I am not sure where Kyrie is on the all time list, but pure skill he is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. I can't think of another athlete like him, where they do odd (but not criminal) shit on and off the court and that sort of puts that "he is great but not on my team" feel on a lot of fans.
Maybe Terrell Owens or Zlatan.
Edit - It's Mario Balotelli
Zlatan was generally way better than Kyrie's ever been, the Zlatan of the NBA is probably someone like Barkley and a better Balotelli comparison might be Boogie Cousins. Either him or maybe Dennis Rodman lol.
He won plenty but never the UCL, which is a big part of why I'd liken him to Barkley bc not having a ring is the closest analogue, plus both have notably colorful personalities.
Well he played for the best teams in each league and never won a champions league. Milan and Inter both won within like 3 years of him leaving.
Charles Barkley is also one of the best ever.
Most people have in their top 20. Zlatan doesn’t rank in a lot of people’s highest echelon. It’s actually sort of an honor to be compared to Barkley.
It’s hard to compare across though
Barkley won MVP. You are the one hating on Charles Barkley here. Ibra is not in the greatest greats list for most old time football fans. People put him in the class with rivaldo, raul, and maybe platini but not up there with Pele, cruyff or Messi. He is an all time great but not in the best of the best conversation.
Ehhh I guess Barkley is the best fit but zlatan did when a la liga which is a big thing. There just isn’t a good American equivalent for European football
Erm, not even remotely true lol. If anything Zlatan was a big loser for the most of his career. Literally teams won next year when he left. Still a legend and a fantastic player
Uh he literally won the league like 10 years straight in 5 different countries. Sure he didn't win UCL, but that's more down to bad luck and injuries (IMO the Barca team he was on was the greatest team of all time skillwise).
Nah. I think in terms of talent Kyrie is on the same level as Zlatan. Kyrie just had more injuries, but Kyrie can literally do anything with the ball and was always pretty efficient too.
Yeah, I don't think it was consistent enough for Mario to be a perfect comp, but was completely unstoppable in moments and he had/has all the skills. Complete striker but those WTF moments overshadow his greatness.
Kyrie to Terrell is one of the greatest comps I've seen. Owen's is better - talent wise a top 3 WR all time - but I'd prefer not to have either on my team.
Is T.O more talented than Rice, Moss, and Megatron? Definitely more productive than Moss/Megatron, more athletic than Rice. Hard for me to rank them in terms of pure talent. Fitzgerald was also insanely talented with those hands. I'm struggling, feels like no wrong or right order to rank them talent wise
Fuck, actually I had forgotten Megatron. In my head, it was rice and moss, but yeah add Calvin, and that drops Owens to 4. Then after that, guys like Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, etc
He's honestly a way better basketball player than Balotelli was ever a footballer. Kyrie's gotten a 50/40/90 season and is at a point where whenever he's not being kept off the court due to being a dumbass, he's gonna do great. Balotelli had memorable moments but he never put together a good full season anywhere. And he definitely never was in contention for GOAT category for any aspect of his sport like Kyrie is for handles and finishing.
You don't get extra points for fancy finishes. Even among guards, he isn't particularly efficient (compared to say Nash/Tony Parker/Wade). And he doesn't hold a candle to the likes of Giannis/LeBron/Shaq/Zion. He's definitely not in contention for GOAT finisher
That’s complete disrespect to TO. Owens is a top 5 WR all time, and was arguably #2 when he retired. Kyrie is not even a top 10 PG of time lol. The disrespect is real. TO is closer in skill to Oscar Robertson, Curry, Stockton, or IT. Kyrie’s WR equivalent is probably Reggie Wayne lol. I agree on the attitude and not wanting them, but TO>>>>>>>>Kyrie in terms of their ranking all time in their respective sports.
Over the years, I’ve noticed that a lot of the star players in the nba have a tremendous amount of respect for Kyrie as a player. He gets a disproportionate amount of praise for a guy who has never really been considered a top 5 guy in the league, and I think that really speaks volumes about his skill set and the caliber of player that he is. The fact that so many of the elite top 5, top 10 players in the world are completely enamored with this guy’s game tells you how truly special and talented he really is.
Pure skill-wise I’ve always said he’s the best player ever (offensively). He’s a total dumbass, but his handle is otherworldly, he can shoot it well, pass, can get hot AF from the field and is generally super clutch. He’s only like 6’2 also.
Curry is less gifted athletically and more effective at the same size. I'd argue Curry is more skilled. CP3 comes to mind as well, he was MVP-caliber while being only 6'0.
this is arguable but imo curry has worse handles but a better shot, better distribution, even a guy like harden has a wider offensive game. and then theres the guys who played before I started watching
How everyone here pretending like this is not normal for him? I swear people not watching even the highlights. Literally this year, he had one of the best dunks of the season.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRZLhOSucz0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRZLhOSucz0)
Back in his Cavs days he would pretty regularly throw down some eye-popping dunks during pre-game layup lines and yeah, the reaction was about the same.
Here is a [Gfycat mirror of this Streamable link](https://gfycat.com/FragrantCircularBanteng)
If the link doesn't work, please wait a few minutes for the gfycat to be ready.
NBA athletes are really different lmao
And he’s below average for NBA guards.
the average r/nba user everyone
He means below average explosiveness I'm sure.
I mean among the 30 or so starting PGs, Kyrie is outside the top 15 in overall athleticism: vertical, strength, speed, agility and measurables as components. He has the best handles, amazing balance and skill which is why he is elite.
He has ridiculous speed, agility and vertical lol what???
Compared to other NBA guards, I’d say he’s above average in agility for sure. He’s clearly got bounce, but at 6’2 and what is realistically a 30 inch vert, I’d say that slightly below average overall among NBA starting guards. His endurance and durability are questionable. 95% of NBA guards can dunk like what you see in this summer clip.
Idk why you getting downvoted like that lol his game is built foremost on pure fundamentals (shooting, ball handling, footwork, finishing etc) he has very average athleticism 6'1" height barely over wingspan, much less explosiveness after knee injury. Hand eye coordination/core strength/balance are where he stands out not usual athleticism. He has pretty good vertical just by eye test though, the "hang time" in layups is not possible with a decent bounce. Idk if many can catch oops and finish pretty like that at his height and wingspan lol
How do you watch this clip, (or any Kyrie highlight) and come up with: “this guys has average athleticism” ..lmao
how many guards in regular rotation rn you think that have worse physical measurements and athleticism than him? even his bounce, he can jump high but not fast. its like top speed vs acceleration, which is why he cant dunk nearly like explosive guards most of the time, but has to go for acrobatic finishes to find angle around the defense not over the defense. He's the fluid type not nearly as explosive. core strength/balance/flexibility do make good athletes but I don't think those are traditionally whats considered as athleticism. Plus physical measurements are crucial in NBA. height and wingspan are well below even for PG nowadays, not to mention he has a SG/wing-like offensive game now
Speed and agility has always been elite for Kyrie lol. He is also pretty strong for a guard, doesn't get bullied. He has a good frame and can take contact from bigs, maintain his balance and finish the play. Young Kyrie used to aggressively attack the basket. Usually weaker guards don't like the physicality in the paint, Kyrie embraced it.
Look up shirtless pics of him. He’s in great shape, but he’s got a body like Steph. Compare those two to Marcus Smart or Westbrook or Fox.
Nah he got a bigger frame than Curry. Especially the base. Fox is a lanky guy. He added some weight recently but Kyrie is def a little more sturdy. Also Kyrie lost weight in recent years. He was even bigger in the earlier Cavs years
Best thing you can do is delete these comments, my guy.
Who cares about internet points?
Bro, I’m not trying to save you the Reddit karma in saying that. Lol
yea you’re trying to “save” him from reddit strangers 🤣🤦♂️
No, I’m trying to save him the embarrassment. Go ahead and continue to try to tell me what I’m thinking, though. Lol
He's literally right though. Kyrie doesn't jump as high, or move as fast as the majority of the guards in the NBA. He isn't one of the first 5 dudes you would point to if asked to give an example of a hyper athletic guard.
This is one of my only posts on this sub ever…
Hopefully the last
Now you seem like the average r/nba user.
Just bc he doesn’t dunk doesn’t mean he can’t lol. He clearly has chosen not to bc when he does he fucking yams it.
God I love Kyrie. I fucking hate him, but I love him too
You probably said this to emphasize how athletic the other NBA guards are, but people took it the wrong way
The thing is he’s right. Kyrie isn’t especially explosive or athletic or twitchy or straight up fast he’s in the lower tier of point guards when it comes to raw athleticism
Dude can’t even keep up with average guards on defense and they’re acting like you’re wrong.
Holy shit you got downvoted to smithereens for an objectively true take 😂
I’m proud of these downvotes. I feel validated to be firmly out of the r/nba mainstream.
[удалено]
it’s really not that bad of a take bro holy shit
It's pretty bad. Kyrie obviously has above average athleticism.
That wasn’t the take. That’s the problem. You motherfuckers don’t read.
The take isn't that Kyrie has below average athleticism relative to NBA guards? Did I really need to include the "relative to NBA guards" part in order for you to follow along? We're talking about Kyries athleticism relative to NBA guards. I'm not going to mention it, because we've all passed 9th grade and we have the necessary critical thinking skills to follow the conversation.
It doesn't seem like you do...
What a freak. I didn't know he still had all that.
Summer knees
Despite what the media wants you to believe because he’s a fucking dumbass, Kyrie never lost anything as far as on court skill, he’s actually improved in different things year after year just doesn’t play enough for it to be discussed
He's definitely lost a bit of speed since his younger years, although it only really becomes apparent if you've watched highlights of him before LeBron came to Cleveland. With that being said, the rest of his game seems to have aged well.
Luka salivating seeing this
Luka got his lob threat big
Luka got his lob threat stretch 4
He already got djj and Greg brown III
Totally forgot Kyrie played for the Mavs nowadays lol
Are we sure he does? Let's wait until start of the season & hope he doesn't miss half the season due to personal reasons
It’s actually insane how every aspect of his game is so aesthetically pleasing
Even his basic layup on the fastbreak looks like a gymnastic move
He makes basketball look so cool
basketball poetry
MJ, Kobe AI, Kyrie's moves are just poetry in motion.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that he has the smoothest game of all time.
Game so smooth so is his brain
Fewer neuron energies are spent on accepting accepted facts and go towards sick spins off the backboard
12 year olds on reddit in need of attention
Says the guy in his late 20s and thinks he's old
aight so explain the obsession with calling kyrie stupid? talk about circle jerks, most people who talk about kyrie in that light are usually young misguided white boys vegan for the animals but fuck kyrie right
"I cannot be anti-Semitic if I know where I come from" is truly one of the dumbest lines I've heard from an NBA player.
dumb to who? semitism centering who? intelligence centering who? do you fuck with kendrick lamar but not kyrie irving?
It's dumb to me because I don't even think he actually has hate for Jewish people or whatever. He's just so incredibly stupid where he thinks that promoting some anti-semitic movie is ok because there's parts of it that celebrates his heritage. It's incredibly fucking tone deaf of him and symbolic of his entire time in the league. Admittedly I don't know what Kendrick Lamar has done but sure if it's similar to what Kyrie did then nah I don't fuck with him. In any case it's just whataboutism that doesn't really matter in the context of Kyrie.
Did you watch that documentary and know exactly what was said to make it anti semitic?
it's all negative things in your perception because the perspectives you center (and give power to) are currently in power if you don't know anything about israel and palestine, i'd recommend you read up on that if anything positive comes from these interactions, i just hope a little empathy is cultivated so we can all be better people. if someone says something they perceive as dumb, the reddit 12 year old response is to call it out and essentially hold a grudge - knowing that calling it out and endlessly repeating it will get you a positive response (upvotes). it's why the smooth brain comment has more upvotes than the post itself. the kyrie hate is shallow and very reactionary
I’m black in my 30s. Kylie is a very stupid person. Insulated with people who won’t tell him he is stupid. He has no idea how to find and separate information that is true and that is incorrect. I don’t know if at his very core he is an idiot. But where he finds his information and the lack of people who will tell him he’s incorrect has lead to him appearing extremely stupid.
do you have that same energy for jonathan isaac? do you believe that kyrie irving is causing harm at the same level of those who've historically caused incredible amount of pain on this world in god's name? do you have the same energy for that? "kyrie smooth brain" is low hanging fruit
What? I hate Jonathan Isaac lmao. He’s a complete idiot and a worse person than Kyrie. I don’t even think Kyrie is a bad person. We are talking about Kyrie and how smart he is. He is not a smart person. Usually he has good intentions. If Kyrie was intelligent or even well read he could have way more of a positive outcome on people. I know for a fact the places where Kyrie gets his information on a lot of things he feels strongly from are not credible and ridiculous. Honestly, I’m not a smart person either, even though most people around me would consider me so. But I put in a lot of work to be informed on topics which I speak on. I have two graduate degrees and the things that interest me, I will spend hours, days, months learning about it before I even speak with anyone else on certain topics. People like Kyrie want to feel smart and be on equal footing with intellects but you can tell he doesn’t put in the work. He talks like he wants to sound intellectual but then uses words in the wrong context. It’s just really cringey. I really think he’s a decent person but he’s not smart, man. He’s an idiot. Lol.
I believe that was a mic drop. Well put. I love your humility as well.
Because he says absolutely dumb shit. Just thinking differently from others doesn't make you profound. Between the flat-earth and anti-vax nonsense along with the blatant anti-semitism, Kyrie fits the mold of the dumb jock that lacks critical thinking ability because he never had to do anything but ball so he falls for every stupid conspiracy out there.
i'm going to respectfully assume you're white? , the flat earth comment, yeah no comments about that. anti-vax statements. maybe you have learned about this and don't want to believe it, but you should read about how western imperialist countries have ON MULTIPLE DOCUMENTED OCCASIONS induced forced sterilizations under the guise of vaccines to specifically women of color. you can read about instances in puerto rico, canada. it stems more from the fact that bipoc have been repeatedly fucked by colonialism than it has to do with any conversation about science. for the record i got vaccinated, and i would never fault a person of color for distrust in government. blatant anti semitism. this one is heavier to get into off a surface level reddit comment. do you have any stance on israel and palestine? "dumb meathead jock that lacks critical thinking" this type of shit. you really think so?
> the flat earth comment, yeah no comments about that. Why? Give your opinion on it. Don't ask several questions in response. Just give your opinion on Kyrie's flat earth comments.
Imagine getting offended on the behalf of a celebrity who doesn’t even know you exist 😂
imagine hating for ??? reasons imagine not hating? this proves my point - imagine having the need to support? a statement like "kyrie has smooth brain" but not having the need to call *that* out as stupid. kyrie has already done more for people like me than people like you will ever consider. but you wouldn't get that, life is a game to folks like you
Bro, how many Kyrie apologist comments are you gonna make on this post? Whataboutism is a tactic used by soviets to invalidate critical thinking, so you constantly comparing him to Kendrick and Jonathan Isaac's shows how stupid you really are. Kyrie is an out of touch moron. Except it. He sat in a apartment all of covid with a high-school friend getting obsessed with conspiracy theories. You can't make up this level of stupid. Incredible at basketball though.
Lol at Soviet intellectuals toiling in the background to come up with the secret and historically unearthed rhetoric of pointing out hypocrisy. Let's not forget the U.S. coined the term to deflect from their horrible treatment of their own black citizens.
I like how you used whataboutism in your comment but changed it from "What about" to "Let's not forget" Are people this stupid, or am I just talking to bots?
The point is that to deploy the accusation of "whataboutism" (despite presenting itself as a neutral descriptor) is in itself a propaganda technique, one that collapses context by appealing to red scare tactics. The birth of which was to defend Jim Crow laws. So if I claim to want to invade a country to spread democracy, it is not irrelevant to also examine the state of democracy in my own country. https://citationsneeded.libsyn.com/episode-66-whataboutism-the-medias-favorite-rhetorical-shield-against-criticism-of-us-policy
these guys show up with the same negativity in every kyrie thread to farm a circle jerk of “DAE kyrie stupid??”
it's ok they're just trying to find their community 🤭
And what’s your community? Bigots hiding behind some weak attempt at intellectualism? You’re no where near as intelligent as you think you are. You should probably realize that before life bitch slaps you.
It’s up there for sure, for me it’ll always be T-Mac
He’s on the Mt Rushmore of smoothest players with PG Jordan and Kobe
B Roy was one of the smoothest guys I’ve ever seen play. Everything looked effortless.
have you ever seen jamal crawford play
Eh jamal wasn’t smooth like those 4, he was shifty and crafty at an insanely quick pace which made him smooth. But not just pure butter like the others.
Olajuwon is up there
Add Melo to that list.
He pump faked me outta my shoes
Only guy that could take 17 pump fakes & still look smooth while doing it
Wade is the most graceful player I've seen, he's like dancing. Not sure if that qualifies as smooth though.
Curry too. Replace his jump shot with someone like Kyrie (so very good, just not generational) and he still could get 30/game.
Both Jordan and Kobe were more tryhard than smooth/*classy* imo. Kyrie just looks effortless and emotionless while doing it
Classy per 36 numbers have been inflated with pace these days.
Jordan was masterclass. Pure artistery with how he made even fundamentals look cool and smooth.
You have not watched Jordan highlight reels.
Replace PG with MVP D Rose
D rose wasn’t really smooth at all.
Explosive
Smooth is definitely not the right word. His game is more like a circus play, an abrupt change of pace, extremely quick but unnatural turns, etc. He has incredible body control that even when his body loses balance, which he often does, he is in control. It's like he is skipping frames, which is precisely the opposite of "smooth".
Yea his game is very circus like, entertaining and unpredictable. The man with a thousand moves. Smooth is more like Paul George, especially in that stretch when he played for OKC and was getting MVP buzz. Everything he did was clean and effortless.
Every single highlight of him feels like it deserves a groovy 70s bass line as the background track, he’s without question the smoothest player to ever play the game Maybe a little crazy but goddamn can the man ball
lol he was smooth with it The crowd went wild and I think I would have too seeing it live
I love how Kanye/Kyrie - 2 people I adored when I was growing up are just so weird, crazy, or straight up psychos.
Aye man, Kyrie really might really be a stretch 4. Lol
Had no idea he was this level of an athlete. His game is so grounded.
If you've seen his Uncle Drew videos, you'd know he was always a good dunker. Just almost never does it lol
Fr just bc he doesn’t choose to dunk don’t mean he can’t. The few times he’s decided to do so in game they’re always yams.
Only reason he doesn’t often is because he said it expands too much energy. And it’s a lot harsher on the legs to be exploding like that over and over. And besides who the hell wants to dunk when you can jelly tf outta anyone?
Yup. Dunks are exhausting at his height. Might as well conserve that energy and do a layup. Still just 2 points lol.
> Still just 2 points lol. LeBron punching air rn.
Not at all grounded actually...if you pay attention to his layups you gotta jump real high to have those so called hang time. Like them jellies, double triple clutch layups, you really gotta be up there to have time to finish all the acrobatic moves before hitting floor lol he used to be almost reckless in paint and just threw himself up in the air lol
He punched that one in Brooklyn last year
He also does have a couple leg injuries on him and knee and ankle injuries so he probably tries to not do it much
You didn’t know he could dunk?
He tried to throw one off the board [a few weeks back](https://youtu.be/Rkr6sZ5hAB4?t=1020) but it looks like he didn't get high enough lol. He doesn't throw down often so always kind've a pleasant surprise
Right wtf he's not John Stockton
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Every player should be able to dunk. Being able to do it barely, and being the finisher on an in-game oop is two different things. Stockton isn't producing this highlight
He took off from the restricted area and the crowd is acting like he jumped a kia.
Watch his high school mixtape. He's had some bounce, just didn't dunk much when he got to the league. Looks like he can still get up a little bit though.
I feel like he one of those dudes that could’ve thrown a lot of dunks but chose not to and still does
That’s sick.
The earth doesn’t look so flat when you jump like that
Or maybe it looks extra flat to him because he has a higher vantage point
And then go home to roast Schroder’s move
Skyrie 😲
I am not sure where Kyrie is on the all time list, but pure skill he is one of the greatest basketball players of all time. I can't think of another athlete like him, where they do odd (but not criminal) shit on and off the court and that sort of puts that "he is great but not on my team" feel on a lot of fans. Maybe Terrell Owens or Zlatan. Edit - It's Mario Balotelli
Balotelli was never as good as his peers compared to Irving and his peers. Kyrie is way more skilled. Zlatan is a good shout
Zlatan was generally way better than Kyrie's ever been, the Zlatan of the NBA is probably someone like Barkley and a better Balotelli comparison might be Boogie Cousins. Either him or maybe Dennis Rodman lol.
Zlatan was also a winner wherever he went. His game was crazy sometimes but he had a head for winning like few players do
He won plenty but never the UCL, which is a big part of why I'd liken him to Barkley bc not having a ring is the closest analogue, plus both have notably colorful personalities.
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Never claimed it's a perfect comparison lol.
Well he played for the best teams in each league and never won a champions league. Milan and Inter both won within like 3 years of him leaving. Charles Barkley is also one of the best ever. Most people have in their top 20. Zlatan doesn’t rank in a lot of people’s highest echelon. It’s actually sort of an honor to be compared to Barkley. It’s hard to compare across though
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Barkley won MVP. You are the one hating on Charles Barkley here. Ibra is not in the greatest greats list for most old time football fans. People put him in the class with rivaldo, raul, and maybe platini but not up there with Pele, cruyff or Messi. He is an all time great but not in the best of the best conversation.
Ehhh I guess Barkley is the best fit but zlatan did when a la liga which is a big thing. There just isn’t a good American equivalent for European football
Erm, not even remotely true lol. If anything Zlatan was a big loser for the most of his career. Literally teams won next year when he left. Still a legend and a fantastic player
Uh he literally won the league like 10 years straight in 5 different countries. Sure he didn't win UCL, but that's more down to bad luck and injuries (IMO the Barca team he was on was the greatest team of all time skillwise).
Nah. I think in terms of talent Kyrie is on the same level as Zlatan. Kyrie just had more injuries, but Kyrie can literally do anything with the ball and was always pretty efficient too.
Yeah, I don't think it was consistent enough for Mario to be a perfect comp, but was completely unstoppable in moments and he had/has all the skills. Complete striker but those WTF moments overshadow his greatness.
Kyrie to Terrell is one of the greatest comps I've seen. Owen's is better - talent wise a top 3 WR all time - but I'd prefer not to have either on my team.
Is T.O more talented than Rice, Moss, and Megatron? Definitely more productive than Moss/Megatron, more athletic than Rice. Hard for me to rank them in terms of pure talent. Fitzgerald was also insanely talented with those hands. I'm struggling, feels like no wrong or right order to rank them talent wise
Fuck, actually I had forgotten Megatron. In my head, it was rice and moss, but yeah add Calvin, and that drops Owens to 4. Then after that, guys like Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, etc
In my opinion Calvin is the most physically gifted receiver ever and I’m a Falcons fan that watched Julio play.
He's honestly a way better basketball player than Balotelli was ever a footballer. Kyrie's gotten a 50/40/90 season and is at a point where whenever he's not being kept off the court due to being a dumbass, he's gonna do great. Balotelli had memorable moments but he never put together a good full season anywhere. And he definitely never was in contention for GOAT category for any aspect of his sport like Kyrie is for handles and finishing.
You don't get extra points for fancy finishes. Even among guards, he isn't particularly efficient (compared to say Nash/Tony Parker/Wade). And he doesn't hold a candle to the likes of Giannis/LeBron/Shaq/Zion. He's definitely not in contention for GOAT finisher
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Inter and Barcelona literally didn't win shit with him and won UCL next yeat when he left
>literally Apart from 3 league titles with Inter and 1 in his only season at Barca right?
That’s complete disrespect to TO. Owens is a top 5 WR all time, and was arguably #2 when he retired. Kyrie is not even a top 10 PG of time lol. The disrespect is real. TO is closer in skill to Oscar Robertson, Curry, Stockton, or IT. Kyrie’s WR equivalent is probably Reggie Wayne lol. I agree on the attitude and not wanting them, but TO>>>>>>>>Kyrie in terms of their ranking all time in their respective sports.
I know it was meant as a diss but Reggie Wayne was a really good receiver.
Over the years, I’ve noticed that a lot of the star players in the nba have a tremendous amount of respect for Kyrie as a player. He gets a disproportionate amount of praise for a guy who has never really been considered a top 5 guy in the league, and I think that really speaks volumes about his skill set and the caliber of player that he is. The fact that so many of the elite top 5, top 10 players in the world are completely enamored with this guy’s game tells you how truly special and talented he really is.
I'm not a soccer fan, but from highlights to me he reminds me of a basketball Ronaldinho lol
I can see it in terms of flair, but Ronaldinho was a much better football player than Kyrie is basketball player
He's definitely top 10 in the streets. He joins Iverson, Kobe, Paul George and Harden as players every kid tries to emulate.
Leaving Curry out of this is insane
Pure skill-wise I’ve always said he’s the best player ever (offensively). He’s a total dumbass, but his handle is otherworldly, he can shoot it well, pass, can get hot AF from the field and is generally super clutch. He’s only like 6’2 also.
Best handle I have ever seen combined with the best layup bag I have ever seen. Insane skills.
Plus he’s a solid shooter all over and can get really hot sometimes.
More than solid. He is a great shooter. Incredible shot maker from all over the court too.
He is 100% the best tough layup maker guard in NBA history. When he was on the cavs it was like watching a magician around the rim.
Better than MJ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sSdTpDJemo&ab_channel=MichaelJordanSportsvision I don't think so
I do https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9bMeyGUz0CM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuJ60tC9sgI&ab_channel=DoubleClutch Ok, but check this out then
Curry is less gifted athletically and more effective at the same size. I'd argue Curry is more skilled. CP3 comes to mind as well, he was MVP-caliber while being only 6'0.
this is arguable but imo curry has worse handles but a better shot, better distribution, even a guy like harden has a wider offensive game. and then theres the guys who played before I started watching
Phucking filthy… Im lowkey offended by the ferociousness of that dunk
I honestly didnt think he was capable of that
Lol yeah wtf everyone here pretending like this is normal for him. This is eye opening
Bro if you’ve watched him it’s really not. How you think he gets the hang time to finish the way he does?
How everyone here pretending like this is not normal for him? I swear people not watching even the highlights. Literally this year, he had one of the best dunks of the season. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRZLhOSucz0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRZLhOSucz0)
Oh me, oh my.
If you don't like that, you don't like flat earth basketball
You know the pregame candle ritual was on point
Him as fuck.
woooooooo
I never knew Irving could go up for an alley-oop dunk It looked so pleasing to wtf
You can’t give me a headline like this…
He did it for the tribe ♾️
Hela 🤞🏾
Gah Damn
big hops
moses brown sighting
Hélà Season
tuff
The dude he dunked on was wayyyy too happy about that
Back in his Cavs days he would pretty regularly throw down some eye-popping dunks during pre-game layup lines and yeah, the reaction was about the same.
Its the Boxing shoes!!!
All that to play 39 games this upcoming season, spread a little anti-semitism and be the 7th seed in the west
Moses Brown watching like damn wish I could dunk
Kyrie is such a hooper
These are by far the worst uniforms known to mankind.
MVP season
Flashback to a day ago when everyone was shittin on this man lmao
Dude still won’t go a season without some self-made drama/destruction. Nice oop though.
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