Name me a better player with better finishing & handles than Kyrie Irving

[JZ600]

Might be the greatest ever in these two categories combined

And hes only 24....

[Lebronxrings]

Lebron?

Kyrie has more flashier ball handling, i trust lebron to secure possessions and not turn it over.

[Pointguard]

Might be the greatest ever in these two categories combined

And hes only 24....
Flashier dribble is the better way to phrase this as Lebronxrings says above. Rose at 22 years of age was better at both. Jordan who was doubled more but didnt have a lot of turnovers. Kyrie does have a flashier dribble.

[Jameerthefear]

Curry

[zeerghit]

curry

[plowking]

Rose at 22 years of age was better at both.


:roll: :roll: :roll:

Thanks for the laugh.

[FatComputerNerd]

Kyrie finishes @ the rim like Jordan or Dr. J yet has handles as good if not arguably better than AI's.

Special talent.

The fact that he's borderline 50/40/90 guy is icing on the cake.

The fact that he has all the above, but also has that alpha clutch gene makes him ridiculous.

[JZ600]

Kyrie is better than curry at both

[FatComputerNerd]

Kyrie is better than curry

FTFY

[Prime_Shaq]

Possibly Shaq.

[nathanjizzle]

:roll: :roll: :roll:

Thanks for the laugh.

ignorant

[MP.Trey]

I can't.

[Trollsmasher]

Kyrie finishes @ the rim like Jordan or Dr. J yet has handles as good if not arguably better than AI's.

Special talent.

The fact that he's borderline 50/40/90 guy is icing on the cake.

The fact that he has all the above, but also has that alpha clutch gene makes him ridiculous.
Jordan, LeBron, presumably Dr. J shot above 70% at the rim in their primes

Kyrie does not touch that, simply because he is a much smaller and less athletic PG

[FatComputerNerd]

By finishing at the rim I meant his ability to contort his body in mid-air, finish with either hand, switch hands in mid-air, use of 'English' on the glass, etc. I wasn't talking about FG % in the paint.

How many times have we seen Kyrie finishing at the rim with ridiculous circus shots and thought to ourselves Jordan-esque, or "how the F did he do that".

Pretty much every game he's played in.

[FatComputerNerd]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au7a_vQRk1A

[ShawkFactory]

Iverson.

[Cone]

No one currently has better handles and finishing ability than Kyrie. I love watching this kid... his game is so smooth.

[CTbasketball92]

Jordan, LeBron, presumably Dr. J shot above 70% at the rim in their primes

Kyrie does not touch that, simply because he is a much smaller and less athletic PG

I see what you mean, but I think Irving is probably the best "difficult layup" maker in the sense that he's prob. the only person that could make a lefthanded floater/layup while sprinting away from the basket like he did in game seven. For someone under 6'3" he's very good, though. 60% at the rim is really good.

As far as handles? He's def. number 1.

[bdreason]

He's probably the smoothest finisher around the rim in the league. His touch off the backboard is unbelievable. If he ever learns how to pass, watch out.

[swagga]

He's probably the smoothest finisher around the rim in the league. His touch off the backboard is unbelievable. If he ever learns how to pass, watch out.

lebron in 2009 was the best perimeter-based finisher at the rim in history tbh.

[Solidape]

Might be the greatest ever in these two categories combined

And hes only 24....

Kenny Anderson when he was young!

[MintBerryCrunch]

Might be the greatest ever in these two categories combined

And hes only 24....
Iverson.

[GrapeApe]

Wade deserves a mention. Great combination of craftiness, quickness, explosion, and strength.

This is one of my all-time favorite drives and finishes

http://https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FbOeNlvsJ9M (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FbOeNlvsJ9M")

[warriorfan]

Curry

[Smoke117]

Wade deserves a mention. Great combination of craftiness, quickness, explosion, and strength.

This is one of my all-time favorite drives and finishes

http://https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FbOeNlvsJ9M (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FbOeNlvsJ9M")

Yup. He's not as nimble and herky-jerky as Irving, but nobody has the explosion he had off the dribble. He's not a guy who dances with the ball...he wants to find the seam where he can explode to the basket. He's a better finisher than Irving for sure.

[34-24 Footwork]

Wade is a more authoritative finisher. Kyrie is finesse as fock, but still EXTREMELY effective
..especially for this era.

Wade definitely deserves a mention. But Kyrie gets people the fock outta there with his handles. Defender isnt even in the picture.

He's the best I've seen since AI/Tim Hardaway.

[Dro]

Kenny Anderson when he was young!
:applause: :applause:

This is actually what he was known for during his time, also Rod Strickland...

[RedBlackAttack]

I believe what OP means when he says the "best" layup maker is the actual skill involved in finishing as consistently as he does. Comparing his percentage finished at the rim to taller guys like Shaq or even Dr. J (who had amazing finishing ability in his own right) is silly. Of course those guys are going to finish at a higher rate.

Even comparing the numbers to hyper-athletic guards like Westbrook, Wall or Rose is deceiving, because those guys are dunking half the time too.

The pure skill it takes for Kyrie to finish the way he does as often as he does is some of the best I've ever seen. He finishes equally as strong with either hand and his use of spin and the backboard is second to none.

http://giant.gfycat.com/ImperturbableSmoggyCooter.gif

https://media.giphy.com/media/2jPHCOl26PELS/giphy.gif

http://gifyu.com/images/KyrieFloater3.gif

http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view1/3776347/kyrie-irving-spin-o-layup-o.gif

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-28hHEanbgVQ/V22nopwso6I/AAAAAAABL8U/xDvn4EYkg0UXiVwKsiFZ1LrpUT40ZtBuA/w506-h750/Kyrie%2BIrving%2BNBA%2BFinals%2BShot%2BScience.gif

...and those were just the first few that came up on Google. Hardly his best stuff.

As for his dribbling skills, he's the most skilled I have ever seen. I will stand by that.

[34-24 Footwork]

Kyrie, Kobe, Nash and Rasheed Wallace have the GREATEST left hands iver ever fvckin seen.

Once Kyrie gets his shoulder pass you, its a wrap.

[arkain]

Hard to definitively say one player but there are several good shouts.

Wade, Iverson, Kyrie, Isiah Thomas (DET), Tony Parker

Edit - took out Westbook if we're not placing as much emphasis on dunking but rather layups.

[Smoke117]

Iverson.

I'd agree with this. Kyrie is probably closest to Iverson with his handles and finishing ability. As much as I can't stand the way Iverson played and how overrated he is...he was an amazing finisher around the rim.

[smoovegittar]

Nowadays, it's hard to come up with one. Maybe John Wall?

..but Pete Maravich would murder him.

[arkain]

Y'all underrating Tony Parker. Handles weren't flashy but he consistently got to the rim and finished.

[GrapeApe]

Y'all underrating Tony Parker. Handles weren't flashy but he consistently got to the rim and finished.

Good call on Parker. He was an amazing finisher, routinely among the most efficient guards in the league despite being a below average shooter.

[Bankaii]

Today, no one.

All time AI is definitely up there, and most likely better.

[Hey Yo]

He's probably the smoothest finisher around the rim in the league. His touch off the backboard is unbelievable. If he ever learns how to pass, watch out.
That's my fav. from him.

Just high enough arc out of the shot blockers reach, off high glass and in the hoop for 2

[bizil]

For PG's or guards 6'3 and under, he could be the best ever at it. He's bigger than guys like AI and Isiah, so he can be more physical while finishing. Can't really name a PG who has a better blend of handles and finishing. Every guy that is close, Kyrie will have some sort of edge on them.

[RedBlackAttack]

For PG's or guards 6'3 and under, he could be the best ever at it. He's bigger than guys like AI and Isiah, so he can be more physical while finishing. Can't really name a PG who has a better blend of handles and finishing. Every guy that is close, Kyrie will have some sort of edge on them.

The most underrated aspect of Kyrie is his strength. I've seen him physically dominate other guards and even some big guys around the basket. He's very sneaky with his shoulders.

That's why he would just relentlessly attack Golden State any time he saw Curry in front of him. He knew that he could create separation any time and anywhere he wanted unless they came with quick help.

https://66.media.tumblr.com/ab176357f8257fb447b4a667cb6bd25c/tumblr_oaqom3PXn41u2klrwo1_400.gif


In the last three games, you saw very little of Curry defending Kyrie, but Irving was even overpowering Klay Thompson a lot of times.

[feyki]

For small guards , Tony P. for sure . A %65 career finisher at the rim and his peak was %70 . Totally amazing .

[Solidape]

For PG's or guards 6'3 and under, he could be the best ever at it. He's bigger than guys like AI and Isiah, so he can be more physical while finishing. Can't really name a PG who has a better blend of handles and finishing. Every guy that is close, Kyrie will have some sort of edge on them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyu909SyWsY

Top 10 list

[Ben Simmons]

The most underrated aspect of Kyrie is his strength. I've seen him physically dominate other guards and even some big guys around the basket. He's very sneaky with his shoulders.

That's why he would just relentlessly attack Golden State any time he saw Curry in front of him. He knew that he could create separation any time and anywhere he wanted unless they came with quick help.


In the last three games, you saw very little of Curry defending Kyrie, but Irving was even overpowering Klay Thompson a lot of times.
Agreed.

That gif doesnt show it, but Kyrie is very strong in the under body. If you watch closely he was at times pushing even Draymond out of the way.

Also if you watch his defense he would forearm check Curry and Livingston to stop their drives/postups. The refs dont call it since he's so small, but that was a big part of his defensive improvement after game 2.

[AintNoSunshine]

For the sake of it, l will go by how you seem to define "dribble" and say Allen Iverson has a case.

But Kyrie is the best combination of Ball handling and finishing and shooting that I have seen.

[bizil]

The most underrated aspect of Kyrie is his strength. I've seen him physically dominate other guards and even some big guys around the basket. He's very sneaky with his shoulders.

That's why he would just relentlessly attack Golden State any time he saw Curry in front of him. He knew that he could create separation any time and anywhere he wanted unless they came with quick help.

https://66.media.tumblr.com/ab176357f8257fb447b4a667cb6bd25c/tumblr_oaqom3PXn41u2klrwo1_400.gif


In the last three games, you saw very little of Curry defending Kyrie, but Irving was even overpowering Klay Thompson a lot of times.

Well said! And to top it off, Kyrie is an elite shooter. When it come to total scoring skillset from ALL AREAS of the floor, he could be the best PG of all time. Steph has the best blend of pure shooting and great handles. Big O was epic with the midrange, slashing, and postups. But Kyrie gives u a great dose of three point shooting, midrange, and slashing to the rack. He's world class in all three catergories.

[Pointguard]

Kyrie, Kobe, Nash and Rasheed Wallace have the GREATEST left hands iver ever fvckin seen.

Once Kyrie gets his shoulder pass you, its a wrap.
You haven't seen Wall play then. Rose is after Wall. Rose is the only one you seen putting left handed reverse spins on the ball.

[k0kakw0rld]

Good call on Parker. He was an amazing finisher, routinely among the most efficient players in the league despite being a below average shooter.
Fixed. :cheers: