Gilbert Arenas had the pleasure/misfortune of going up against Allen Iverson at his peak and the Hall of Famer certainly made a strong impression on him. On the latest episode of Gil’s Arena, Arenas and Brandon Jennings got into an argument regarding Iverson and the former stated Kyrie Irving is a snail compared to the Philadelphia 76ers icon.
“Kyrie is a snail compared to f***ing Allen Iverson, a snail,” Arenas said. “… Think about how many combo moves Kyrie has to do to get by somebody. One move, this is all AI had to do (crossover)… You couldn’t touch Allen Iverson.”
“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
Well, Iverson, who stood at 6’0″ and weighed 165 pounds, has gone down as one of the fastest players in NBA history and most would be snails compared to him. He might not have been as athletic as the guards that came after him, but I don’t think any of them could match him when it came to pace.
Iverson was lightning quick and as Arenas pointed out, all he needed was one crossover to get you off balance and that was that. He was gone before you even had a chance to recover, which was what made him one of the deadliest scorers in the NBA at his peak.
Iverson ended up averaging 26.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 2.2 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game in his career. He won four scoring titles along the way and left a whole lot of defenders on the floor.
Allen Iverson Thinks Kyrie Irving Is The Greatest Ball-Handler Ever
Irving may not be as fast as Iverson, but the Hall of Famer himself thinks there is one area where the Dallas Mavericks guard is better than him. Iverson called Irving the greatest ball-handler ever.
“[Kyrie Irving] is the best. Steph [Curry] handle is crazy. Steph, his jumper gets you over. He [crosses] half-court and can let it go. (Kyrie) has the best handles ever. Kyrie will have you beat and then bring it back and play with it, he toys with people. He can still just go, but if he feels like playing with you.”
For the longest time, Iverson was the one considered to have the best handles but he believes Irving has surpassed him and everyone else. I believe that is the case as well. The Dallas Mavericks star is a wizard with the ball in his hands and his bag of tricks is deeper than that of anyone else.
As Iverson stated, Irving seems to be toying with defenders at times and you can get away with that when you’re just that good at ball-handling. Former Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy also believes Kyrie has the most insane handle he’s seen in a player and he has seen a lot of the great ones in action.
Handy also added that Irving is probably the most skilled player ever. He also felt the eight-time All-Star is unrivaled when it comes to playing in tight spacing and getting people off balance. Safe to say, Handy is a very big fan.
Irving also silenced a lot of his doubters this past season, by helping the Mavericks get to the NBA Finals. The 32-year-old did struggle in the Finals against the Boston Celtics, though, and he’d be keen to make amends next season.
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