Kyrie Irving was considered one of the biggest snubs of the NBA’s 75 greatest players of all-time list, alongside other players like Dwight Howard, Klay Thompson, Tracy McGrady, and Vince Carter, to name a few.
Plenty of people believe this has something to do with Kyrie’s refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine. This decision has prevented him from playing this season and being a full-time member of the Brooklyn Nets.
While some folks are convinced this is the main reason why Kyrie didn’t make the cut over players from 40, 50, or 60 years ago, a former NBA champion has a different explanation for Irving’s snub. Metta Sandiford-Artest thinks Kyrie must win a championship without former teammate-nemesis LeBron James to have a better valuation among the NBA circles.
“Kyrie’s good,” Artest said on Posted Up with Chris Haynes. “But when you look at that list, everybody deserves to make that list. I think Kyrie needs to win a title without LeBron. Although he is one of the most talented players we ever saw, a lot of people are really talented. But it’s a gift and a curse, you just never know it.”
That’s an interesting point of view from Artest, especially knowing that Kyrie has struggled to win since he left the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017. The talented point guard had a tumultuous tenure with the Boston Celtics and even though his first two seasons with Brooklyn were fine, things took a wrong turn now.
Irving is incredibly talented; he has the best handles this game has seen and can score at will. However, his controversies often overshadow what he does on the court and this is one of those cases.
Well, it seems like winning a title without Bron on his team would take Kyrie where he belongs. Unless he takes the vaccine or New York City changes the mandates, we won’t see Kyrie playing this season, at least not for the Nets.
