For those of you that may not know- the NBA season is 10 weeks away. Free Agency has died down and basketball fans are left without much to get excited about. That being said- this week happens to be ‘NBA Handles Week’. There isn’t many things more exciting than watching the NBA’s best break some ankles on the court.

Kyrie Irving is a Wizard with the Ball

To celebrate why not talk about Kyrie Irving and his otherworldly handles?

In my opinion Kyrie Irving is the greatest ball handler in the history of the league. There’s a reason why they call him “The Unguardable Guard”. Armed with a crossover that leaves defenders reeling, a nasty hesitation, and the leagues scariest spin move Irving is as unstoppable as it gets. Once he makes his move its game over for his defender.

Sure there are others with formidable handles. Steph Curry, James Harden, and Chris Paul come to mind when debating great handles. But when the discussion about the greatest comes up Kyrie Irving’s name seems to pop up the most. 

But don’t just take my word for it!

“Hands down, Kyrie has the best ball-handling skills that we have in our league,” Atlanta Hawks All-Star forward Paul Millsap said. “The way he reads defenses, the way he reads your feet, it’s unbelievable … His biggest asset is his creativity. He is one of the most creative point guards we have.”

“Kyrie has the best handle of all time,” said Houston Rockets guard Eric Gordon. “Very creative and uses different motions, as well.”

Limitless Creativity Leads to Innovative Moves

Kyrie is always trying something new with the ball. Whether it’s a step back three or a hesitation crossover into a floater in the lane he is always looking to set up his shot with a crafty move. He speaks often about keeping his defender on their toes and being as unpredictable as possible.

“There is creativity that goes into it, meaning to change on the fly with multiple combinations, multiple moves, being able to turn my practice into my work and really just have some fun out there,” Irving said. “Being able to keep your defender in an unpredictable state is always a fun thing because you can dribble, shoot, pass … You’re able to not only make plays for yourself, but for everyone on the court.”

High Praise from Another Legendary Dribbler

Stephen Curry, who is arguably Irving’s stiffest competition for such an honor, has spoken highly of Kyrie’s handles. Curry recently included Irving’s name in his Mount Rushmore of ball handlers. Steph also had this to say about Irving in a recent interview:

“He is able to use both hands and he’s shifty and crafty,” Curry said. “He changes speeds to keep people off-balance. Perhaps the best way to put it into words, he has an uncanny kind of ability to go one way, stop on a dime, right to left, left to right, whichever, and still be on balance and get by you. It’s unpredictable. You just don’t know which way he is going.”

Speaking of Curry, check out this sweet move Irving put on the 2X MVP last season:

It doesn’t get much better than that!

On that note I shall leave you with a final clip that compiles a few of the Unguardable Guard’s highlight moves from the 2018 season. Feel free to sit back and enjoy ball handling at it’s best.