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Kevin Durant Says Kyrie Irving Is Better than Allen Iverson

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have been teammates ever since they both signed with the Brooklyn Nets last summer. It appears as both players show a great affection for each other, which is one of the reasons for them to team up. Even prior to that, the level of respect between the two has been evident for years.

Back in 2017, during an appearance on The Bill Simmons podcast, Kevin Durant praised Kyrie Irving’s skills, calling him better than Allen Iverson. Per ESPN:

“Kyrie is better than [Allen Iverson] to me.”

“I’m going from like skill for skill. His handle is better,” Durant continued in praising Irving. “We might have to cut that out — I don’t want no problems with A.I. Y’all might have to cut that one. I don’t want that to get out. I’m just saying I feel like Kyrie got more skill.”

“I was telling some of my friends after Game 2, I was like, Kyrie, he just makes you happy when you watch him play,” Durant said on the podcast. “You just smile when you watch him play, because for somebody to be that skilled, you know he had to work tirelessly at it. The stuff he has in his package is next-level stuff that you can try to teach your kids to do it, but you’ll never be able to do it.”

“I’ve never seen nobody block [Irving’s] layup, and he’s 6-2. I’ve never seen one person pin his layup on the glass, not one. Because the spin he got on it and he don’t got to look at it,” Durant said. “I’ve got so much respect for him because I know how much work he has to put in to be that good.”

Kyrie Irving has the whole package but Iverson had it too, with achievements to back it up. 

Kyrie has the skills, made a couple of All-Star appearances, and had one of the best finals series as a second option. But his track record as the leader and focal point a the team is questionable. The Boston Celtics made the Eastern Conference Finals in 2018 without him. In 2019, they underachieved and were eliminated in the 2^nd round with him healthy. Kyrie also hasn’t done much of a difference with the Brooklyn Nets this year.

On the other hand, Allen Iverson led a team to the Finals without much help, even stealing a game from the undefeated Los Angeles Lakers. Iverson’s individual accomplishments are above Kyrie’s too, by a large margin; A.I won an MVP in 2001, made the All-NBA first team three times, and won four scoring titles—things Kyrie has yet to even come close to achieving, even three years after KD’s statement.