My my My my
 
 
 
 
 
 
Home » Misc » How to play basketball like kyrie irving

How to play basketball like kyrie irving


Kyrie Irving Reveals His Ball-Handling Secrets: 'I Have Counters to Every Move' | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

USA Today

It has arguably been the best ball-handling sequence of the early NBA season: As captured in a YouTube video (see below) that's gotten more than 180,000 views since the play happened on Saturday night, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving shakes Washington Wizards guard Glen Rice Jr. with not one, not two, but four behind-the-back, stop-on-the-dime dribbles—and then crosses over another defender to drive in for a floating layup.

What many fans don't know is that Irving, arguably the craftiest ball-handler in the NBA, doesn't aim to please with his creativity. His initial thinking against a defender is to actually keep his dribble move as simple as possible. But when he has to unleash a sequence like he did against Rice Jr., he's already scripted it on the practice court.

As Irving told Bleacher Report this week, "I have counters to every move that I do. "

"What I want (fans) to realize is that when I make a move, it's really a simple move," he said. "It's just done with pace, and it's done off a counter of something. I only do those moves when someone kind of puts me in that position. When someone makes me feel uncomfortable, I'll always have a change of pace or have a change of direction to kind of keep them off balance. They can only guess, so you're in control. That's what offensive guys need to remember."

Irving said he first realized he had a special handle when he was in eighth grade growing up in West Orange, N.J., after spending years working with his father, Drederick, who was a hoops star at Boston University and once had a tryout with the Boston Celtics. Drederick told his son early on, "Just don't let basketball use you; use basketball. Never be complacent about where you are. There's always room to grow no matter how successful you are."

Drederick also stressed to Irving the importance of working out by himself to learn discipline and sacrifice. From there, the now-21-year-old utilized his imagination to teach himself multiple combination moves with the basketball to prepare for different defensive scenarios—sometimes even practicing until midnight because he knew his peers on the West Coast were still up putting in work.

"Everybody always asks, 'What did you do as a kid to get your handle like this?'" Irving said. "And I tell them, 'I just practiced simple moves first—like crossovers, between the legs, behind the back—and then I would work on combinations in isolation situations by myself. Then I would have counters to every move, always being prepared for that—not only that second move, but that third, fourth, fifth move just in case.

"You always want to have those just-in-case moves in your repertoire. You want to keep the defense guessing. I don't want guys to know this is the move I'm going to do right now just because they watched it on film. If he knows what move I'm going to do, I'm going to have about two, three counters to it. That's kind of how I practiced it."

Even though Irving became a self-made ball-handling artist at St. Patrick High School (Elizabeth, N.J.) and then at Duke, he had the drive to perfect his craft with professional assistance entering the NBA in 2011. After he was drafted No. 1 by the Cavaliers, he sought out Raleigh-based renowned trainer Micah Lancaster, who has 30 gym locations across the country and has worked with more than 15 NBA players, including Dwyane Wade and Evan Turner.

Irving met Lancaster through being at Duke and thought that his philosophy—"making training harder than the game, and over-exaggerating the pressure and the chaos while still keeping it very real to the game"—would help him adjust better to the NBA's high intensity level.

"With Kyrie, he was always so talented," Lancaster said, "so for him I just wanted to challenge him to be a little bit more ambidextrous with not only his dribble, but how he protects the ball with his hands—getting his off hand even more active—so he could swat away hands like flies while he's handling the basketball. That's always a big focus of mine. And we focused a lot on his feet, just trying to make the translation from the college game to the pro game with a little bit more footwork, and focus on some of his moves."

Lancaster said during the drills, Irving would make some mistakes and fumble the ball—common for other players he's worked with in the same situations. But Lancaster, who spent time with Irving last summer as well, said what separated Irving was "how quickly he picks things up."

"As we continued to train, I had to do more and more to try to challenge him," he said. "He's a tough person to challenge with his ball-handling because he masters something so quickly that I have to go back into my toolbox and try to make him mess up again. So with him, it's really entertaining to work with him because he makes me just come up with more and more ways to challenge him. He can be comfortable in otherwise very, very uncomfortable situations."

Lancaster said Irving was also challenged with going and stopping quickly on a dime, especially important at the NBA level where spacing and just inches of room to make plays mean everything. But in just one initial workout back in 2011, the point guard mastered going from the highest level of speed to a sudden stop to then a fast, effective move.

"He was always really good at changing paces, but the one area that we really focused on for hours was just stopping during one workout," Lancaster said. "That was actually pretty challenging for him that day. Now he's able to just really slam on his brakes. A lot of times, players have to kind of go from 60 miles per hour to 40 to 20 to 10 to 0. But after one workout, he was able to go from 60 to 0. I think that's what really separates him; not only his hands, but his feet are incredible to the point where he can literally stop like a running back and change directions."

Regarding Irving's footwork, Lancaster said it's been "the most important thing" that has enabled him to excel in the post, where the 6'3" All-Star occasionally operates and has size on many point guards.

"He's good with his feet once he's in the paint—from back pivots, to step throughs, to step arounds," Lancaster said. "And once a player is comfortable in the paint, it's easy to post up. It's his feet that make him so special once he's established himself there."

Overall, Lancaster compared Irving's ability to change directions to one of the greatest NFL running backs ever, Barry Sanders. Lancaster said while many basketball players need to create space, Irving knows how to keep his space and use the area around him, no matter how small, to pull off a dribbling move to keep his defender at bay.

"I think that's what makes him extremely special," Lancaster said.

Ned Dishman/Getty Images

Being in a class of his own, Irving's ball-handling has actually been showcased in an ongoing Pepsi MAX campaign, where he dresses up as an older version of himself—which was his idea—and puts on a dazzling show of dribbling moves on different streetball courts. His creativity is also part of a hilarious new Foot Locker ad called "All is Right with the World. "

"Uncle Drew was all me, but the other commercials that I've been blessed to be a part of, they just give me kind of my own personal space to be creative and kind of put my own twist to it," Irving said. "Directors tell me what to do, and I kind of just put my own twist to it, just to get inside my personality that everybody doesn't really get to see—my off-the-court interests and the way I act. It's just me."

While Lancaster couldn't pinpoint Irving's best go-to move, citing his versatility, Irving said it's "anything out of the in-and-out dribble with both hands." He also said any basketball tricks he has thought of, he has practiced and can do in a game.

Looking ahead, Irving is still trying to perfect moves in his mid-range game.

"Like my floater, the in-between spot where you have a decision to make," he said. "I would say that, just making that decision, making that read, like I don't always have to go in and try to get a foul or anything like that. I can easily shoot a floater over a big man. That's the big-man killer right there."

This past summer, Irving trained mostly individually, playing in more pickup games and challenging himself with fine-tuning his own moves. Lancaster said he was glad to see Irving ride solo training-wise, which he wanted to happen so it would emphasize a positive progression in his development.

"Once he gets to this skill point, he can kind of handle it on his own," Lancaster said.

A key focus for Irving in the summer was becoming more efficient with his ball-handling; in other words, reducing the amount of dribbles when making an attack move on a defender.

"I was healthy the whole offseason, so it was more about just being more efficient and saving that energy instead of going between my legs three times to get a shot," Irving said. "Instead, going between my legs once and getting to a spot and raising up and shooting. Now, it's about finding my spots on the floor and just being more efficient. I can use those moves, but only use them when I have to. "

With the season underway, Irving is making another adjustment that relates to his ball-handling: being positioned more off the ball in the offense with Dion Waiters and new Cavalier Jarrett Jack both spending more time at point guard. A key alteration for Irving as a 2-guard has been utilizing fewer dribbles in screen sets to get his shot off quicker—another element of his attention to efficiency.

Irving, who's averaging 21.8 points, 6.9 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game, discussed the differences between playing the 1 and 2, saying both are beneficial because of his ball-handling and scoring ability.

"When I'm playing the 1-guard, teams do a great job of just loading up and preparing for my drives and preparing for my three-point shots," he said. "Teams are giving me different looks this year, and when I'm off the ball, it gives me a chance to come off screens and be off the ball and read the defense differently. When I'm playing the 1-guard, I'm kind of seeing everything that's going on. When I play the 2, I have a more broader understanding of what's going on and where the screens are being set in order for not only myself to get open, but for my teammates.

That learning curve is reflected in the Cavaliers' rocky 4-8 start. But Irving said the guys need to "believe" in coach Mike Brown's game plan and "trust one another and keep on fighting for everybody."

"For us, we're dealing with a lot of newness with our team," he said. "We're not trying to make excuses or have anybody feel bad for us. Some teams are playing better than others, but right now internally, we're just figuring things out and what's going to make us a successful team going forward. We're just getting used to each other every single game, and that's what's going to make this right.

That success, of course, all starts with the continued growth of Irving, who's deceptive and carefully planned ball-handling sequences are the engine of the Cavaliers offense.

Irving's Top 5 Ball-Handlers of All-Time

1. Allen Iverson: "His crossover."

2. Isiah Thomas: "Just his quickness and change of pace. He used to kill guys with that" (audio has some NSFW language). 

3. Kenny Anderson: "He was a lefty that couldn't be guarded. He had so many moves. I mean, it was ridiculous."

4. Tim Hardaway: "His between-the-legs crossover and his in-and-out crossover."

5. Magic Johnson: "The pace that he played with. I mean, that has a lot to do with your handle. He would pick the ball up and grip it driving to the basket. That takes a lot of handle."

Notable Mention: Tracy McGrady: "I mean, who was really stopping him in his prime when he was healthy? His dribble hedges, his pull-ups—all that stuff was crazy."

Jared Zwerling covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Kyrie Irving and the art of sick handles -- NBA

After a knee injury derailed Year 1 in Boston, Kyrie Irving is back to break more ankles.

Here's what we drew up to spotlight why he might just have the best handles in the NBA.

By Chris Forsberg

Created with Sketch.

It's a late October night, and Kyrie Irving is playing with a little extra sizzle, the anticipation growing each time he touches the ball in a nationally televised game in Milwaukee.

And then it happens.

As Irving revs up for a second-quarter drive -- three dribbles between his legs, a crossover and another pass through the pins -- before launching past Malcolm Brogdon near the paint, you can't help but wonder if the Bucks guard has the toughest job in the building.

Perched a good distance from the action, Boston Celtics radio play-by-play man Sean Grande might have the second-toughest task: attempting to put Irving's dazzling displays into words.

"The only thing I can compare it to is that shell game that they run on the JumboTron," Grande said. "At first it's going really slow ...

"And then it just starts going super fast, and you just have to make a decision."

That's a scary proposition for defenders and announcers alike.

With Boston opening the season as the favorites in a LeBron-less East, Irving might be the key to reaching new heights. If these five electrifying moves are any indication, the Celtics should be in good hands -- because Irving might just be the best ball handler in the NBA.

Nov. 8, 2017 vs. Lakers Weaving Through L.A. Traffic

Celtics coach Brad Stevens found out one of the secrets to Irving's dribbling skills the very instant he met him.

"He's got really strong hands," Stevens said. "When he shakes your hand, you know it."

That strength allows Irving to keep the ball on a string, even as defenders repeatedly pry at it. During a game against the Los Angeles Lakers in November, Irving nearly lost control of his dribble when Brandon Ingram slapped it away as Irving tried to get fancy in transition.

The ball rolled free across the floor, and Irving raced to recover, muscling it from big man Brook Lopez near the top of the key.

"I don't remember what was going on," Ingram said. "It was a play where we had a defensive breakdown, and he just got through everybody and just messed up our whole defense."

Best FG% after 5-plus, 10-plus dribbles

10+ DRIBBLES 5+ DRIBBLES

Last season, Irving shot 55.3 percent from the field after taking at least 10 dribbles, which was best in the NBA among 31 players with 100 such shots. (Data courtesy of Second Spectrum)

With a few dribbles, a recomposed Irving freed himself from a Lopez/Lonzo Ball double team then split Lopez and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope before finishing a left-handed layup -- much to the delight of teammate Shane Larkin, who spilled off the bench in jubilation.

"He's literally going horizontally across the court, and he's tapping [the ball] so guys can't get it," Larkin said. "Then when he finally has that opening, he gets back in control, and he makes another move and another move, and he's at the basket laying it up.

"It's nothing I've seen before, and it's something that you can't really teach."

Stevens' offense is predicated largely on ball movement, but letting Irving get creative wasn't the worst strategy last season. Irving shot 55 percent from the field on plays on which he took at least 10 dribbles, best in the NBA among the 31 players with 100 such shots, according to Second Spectrum data.

So what can defenses do when Kyrie cranks up the handles? According to Ingram, there might be only one answer.

"Foul him. Foul him."

Nov. 6, 2017 vs. Hawks Split, swerve and serve

Stevens likes to remind his players to practice only the shots they will actually take during games. While another player might get some grief for throwing up off-balanced, left-handed layups in practice, Stevens knows there's a method to Irving's madness.

"He doesn't practice typical things that other guys practice," Stevens said. "When he shoots layups as part of a practice opportunity, he will mix in degree of difficulty, but with a purpose.

"Some guys do it, and they miss every single one. Kyrie mixes it in because he knows that he [will] go to that shot again."

No matter how flashy Irving's dribble moves are, they'd be worthless if they didn't lead to buckets -- the proverbial million-dollar move with a 10-cent finish. Case in point: After a screen set by Al Horford, Irving sent defender Dennis Schroder skidding past with a behind-the-back move during a matchup in Atlanta last season.

Irving using Horford screens vs. other Celtics

HORFORD TEAM

When Celtics big man Al Horford is setting screens for Kyrie Irving, good things happen for the Boston offense. With Horford as the screener, Irving scored 1.17 points per direct pick on plays on which he finished the possession, which was nearly 20 percent better than the league average in 2017-18. (Data courtesy of Second Spectrum)

After Horford opened a path, Irving accelerated to split both Schroder and Dewayne Dedmon, but two other Hawks scrambled over, hoping to deny Irving near the basket. Fading off his right foot to create a bit of space against Kent Bazemore, Irving was forced to adjust in midair again when 6-foot-8 Taurean Prince (and his 6-foot-11 wingspan) leapt to contest.

Somehow, Irving still angled the ball high off the glass.

When searching for words to describe a vintage Kyrie dribble move, Grande usually defaults to hoops staccato -- stop, start, left, right, spin -- all while trying to anticipate what move might come next.

"I watched a lot of tape on Kyrie, and I watched a lot of the moves to see if there were any pattern to them. In many ways, there isn't. So you close your eyes and think, 'What is going to paint the picture best for people?'

"You're just trying to find as many 25-cent, one-syllable words as you can to describe the 28 seconds worth of things he does in a three-second span."

Nov. 25, 2017 vs. Pacers Excuse me, you dropped something

NBA skills trainer Micah Lancaster was working with Duke's Nolan Smith in 2011 when Irving, practicing on an adjacent court, took interest in their exercises. Irving signed up for Lancaster's "I'm Possible" training services the summer before his NBA debut, and Lancaster came away marveling at Irving's desire to learn skills that challenged him.

"We had this one dribble drill, and Kyrie just couldn't get the timing down," Lancaster said. "It probably took him a full hour to get the full set of footwork, but he just kept at it.

"He never got frustrated. He never got mad. He really seemed to enjoy the process. I'll never forget that."

When Lancaster watches Irving now, he marvels at his rhythm. Irving's dribble-step timing is always in order, allowing him to make reactionary moves without losing control. Like a drummer or a ballroom dancer, it's tough to knock Irving out of rhythm.

Which Indiana Pacers guard Darren Collison found out the hard way last season.

Scene of the crime: Kyrie leaves Collison behind

KYRIE IRVING

DARREN COLLISON

Irving used 11 dribbles to complete this play, with eight of them coming in the backcourt. After dropping Collison near midcourt, Irving needed just three dribbles to cover 38 feet and get to the basket. (Data courtesy of Second Spectrum)

Picking Irving up full court, Collison tried to cut off Irving's angle near midcourt. Unfazed, Irving went behind his back to change direction, and it was Collison who lost his footing and crashed to the floor.

With a spin move, Irving effortlessly floated past Collison's prone body. In a sequence that featured 11 total dribbles, Irving needed just three to ratchet up his speed while splitting Myles Turner and Bojan Bogdanovic before finishing on the opposite side of the basket.

"His feet. His feet are always moving," Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown said. "He has good handle, of course. But his feet, he can change pace at a drop of a dime.

"I think that's what helps him take it to another level."

Jan. 27, 2018 vs. Warriors Green means go ... then stop

Celtics forward Gordon Hayward is one of the league's better ball handlers for his size -- the benefits of a late childhood growth spurt -- but he believes that part of Irving's success is being able to run at the feet of NBA giants.

"Kyrie has this ability to be so low to the ground," Hayward said. "Yes, he's got a special ability to change speeds, but he's just so low to the ground, and all his moves are really tight. For me, that's the most impressive thing.

"That and how he handles himself around the rim because he's not the most vertically athletic guard, but he shoots layups on people and makes them look real easy."

Just ask 2016-17 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green. During Boston's lone visit to Golden State last season, Irving tried to drive to Green's left, but the big man was able to shuffle along and deny him.

Kyrie's journey past Draymond, second-by-second

KYRIE IRVING

DRAYMOND GREEN

Early in this play, Green is able to keep within three feet of Irving while running at 7. 8 mph. But after racing to meet the former Defensive Player of the Year near the rim, Irving slams on the brakes before changing directions for the bucket. (Data courtesy of Second Spectrum)

Irving didn't just slam on the brakes -- slowing from 10.2 mph to a mere 2.8 mph in seven-tenths of a second -- but he practically melted into the ground while changing direction with a dribble between his legs before sliding off Green's right hip to get into the paint.

Even with less than two feet of breathing room, Irving is able to calmly spin a left-handed layup off the glass.

"He's really good at positioning his body and finding little spots to get it up on the glass," Hayward said. "He's got all the spins and stuff. That's really impressive. But it's the way he uses all those dribble moves to get to the hoop."

Oct. 26, 2017 vs. Bucks Finish with the dish

There's a certain pressure that comes with playing alongside Irving. Oh sure, Irving makes things easy for his teammates with his playmaking abilities, but there's heightened expectations to finish his flashy dishes. Just ask Al Horford.

During that early season game in Milwaukee, Irving tied Brogdon in a knot dribbling in front of the Boston bench and, with a fancy spin move in tight space, broke free toward the basket. Bucks big man John Henson came over with help, but Irving got low and tiptoed the baseline before somehow flinging a waist-high, two-handed backhand from the charge circle to a wide-open Horford near the top of the key.

"I remember that move specifically because I was like, 'Oh, man, I better knock that shot down after all the work that he just did,'" Horford said with a laugh. "It puts pressure on you. You gotta knock down those shots.

"That's a top-10 play right there. "

Kyrie's passes vs. keeps after drives

PASSES KEEPS

Kyrie Irving's 1.21 points created per drive when he passes ranked 24th in the NBA among 74 players to pass on at least 200 drives. When he keeps the ball, however, his 1.13 points per drive ranked third in the NBA among 113 players to keep it 200 times on drives. (Data courtesy of Second Spectrum)

As good as Irving was attacking the basket last season, he was even better when he used the chaos he created off the dribble to generate open looks for teammates. The Celtics averaged 1.21 points per direct Irving drive whenever he passed out of it, compared with a still-robust 1.13 points when he finished with a shot, according to Second Spectrum data.

Horford clearly benefited from Irving, shooting 43.4 percent on 3-point attempts off his feeds. Horford marvels watching Irving in action.

"It's one thing doing all these things with no defense, no pressure," Horford said. "It's another thing to do that in the middle of the game -- having to make decisions -- and he makes it all look so easy.

"That's what impresses me most about what he does."

Animations By Robertino Zambrano, KAPWA
Additional reporting by Ohm Youngmisuk

More about Kyrie and the Celtics:

"I have an answer for every action." Kyrie Irving is the best dribbler in NBA history - Don't Play Basketball - Blogs It's not just about increasing the chances of the Nets championship, the demonstrative inconsistency of the actions of the club's management and other global processes associated with the perception of the personality of the king of NBA conspiracy theories.

It's just that Kairi is one of the Association's most spectacular players, the one who, by his presence on the court, turns the team's dozens of possessions into an attacking attraction of unprecedented generosity. And now he is with us again.

Portland's head coach Chauncey Billups recently called Irving "the most skilled point guard in history," stressing that it's all about skill and skill. With the 2004 champion in Detroit, who was also known as a pretty skilled first number, of course, you can argue. Even in the modern league, there are competitors who shoot better, although the Kyrie collection has last year's season with an elite 50-40-90 percentage line for field goals, a three-point arc and a free throw line, respectively; there are those who are much stronger in the draw; there are plenty of defenders who outnumber the Australian-born basketball player defensively.

However, the Brooklyn star is indeed famous for at least one unique skill, the likes of which may never have been seen in the NBA, not only among defensemen, but also in other positions: Irving has the best dribbling in the history of the game .

Mastery of possession of the ball, the number of deceitful movements and the quality of their execution - all this has already been encountered by other athletes. But the way Kairi uses the full arsenal of skills at every single moment in time and especially before the end is unprecedented.

A few years ago, dribbling in the 2011 draft was compared to Stephen Curry's dribbling. “These guys are on another level. Even I didn’t have the ball like they did, ”Allen Iverson spoke about the defenders. Yet time has highlighted the differences between the two stars.

In Steph's hands, ragged dribbling has always been a means of creating comfortable conditions for shooting - the main weapon of the leader of the Golden State. It is noticeable that Curry now resorts to dribbling much less often, as with experience he has learned to better find space to complete: through relentless movement, vision of the court and trust in playmaker Draymond Green.

For Irving, skillful dribbling has no definite end goal. He uses feints as a natural response to any opponent's action: an outstretched hand, an incorrect rotation of the body, a loss of concentration.

“I want everyone to understand that the exchange movements I make are simple movements. I do them at a pace as a response to something. These movements are used only when certain circumstances arise in front of me, when someone tries to create problems for me. In this case, I always change the speed and direction of movement in order to unbalance the opponent.

I have an answer to any action ,” Irving explained.

What we mean by the most beautiful cascades of tricks, in the case of Kairi, is an indispensable continuation of his usual dribbling: someone during the pass can ram half of the opponent’s line-up with his shoulder and body, but Irving is able to circle the entire other five, starting from his half. Yes, sometimes to the detriment of teamwork, where a timely transfer is no less valuable. But now the 188-centimeter basketball player plays for Steve Nash's Nets, and there is no better training ground for demonstrating individual talents.

“He uses both hands, plays smart and imaginative. Kairi constantly changes speed to make people lose their balance. He has an uncanny ability to move in a certain direction, stop abruptly on a piece of ground, move the ball from left to right, right to left, and still maintain balance and overcome protection. His actions are unpredictable. You just don't know what he's going to do next," Steph said.

Irving learned in the eighth grade of school that advanced driving skills give an undeniable advantage. For years he practiced all sorts of basketball elements with his father, Drederick, who had previously played professionally in Australia. " Don’t adjust to the ball, let the ball adapt to you ,” Irving Sr. shouted in training.

“Everyone asks what I did as a child to learn how to dribble like that. I always answer that at first I just trained the usual movements: crossovers, transfers under the legs and behind the back. Then he worked on combinations of elements in one-on-one situations. All on their own. In this way, I found answers to each individual action of the enemy, I was always ready to carry out a sequence of not only two deceptive movements, but also three, four, five - no matter how much it took.

Always keep a few moves in reserve just in case. Let the defense try to guess. I don't want the guys to be able to watch the cut video and see what I do next. If they guessed my intentions, I made two or three more moves to beat them. That's what I learned," Irving recalled.

Before playing his first game in the NBA, Kyrie began working with coach Mike Lancaster, who had already worked with 15 players in the league, including Dwyane Wade. Lancaster's idea was to make every workout harder than the game by using excessive pressure and chaos.

“I wanted Kairi to focus more on being able to use both hands, not only in direct dribbling, but also in defending the ball with his free hand. So that he more actively interferes with the defenders while he dribbles. We also focused a lot on his legs, trying to transfer the student style of playing to professional basketball with the help of footwork,” said the coach.

One of Irving's challenges in 2011 was practicing the hard stop, an especially important skill in a league where you don't have much space.

“He's always been good at changing pace, so we've been concentrating on stopping, which used to be difficult for him. Now he is able to hit the brakes at any second.

Many players are able to gradually slow down: like a car from 60 mph to 40, then from 40 to 20, from 10 to 0. But he learned to slow down, like from 60 to 0 all at once. I think this is what really really sets him apart from others: not only his arms, but also his legs, with the help of which he instantly stops and changes direction ,” Mike assured.

Footwork also allowed the basketball player to feel confident near the ring. Turns with the ball, the ability to squeeze between players or jump back make him as unpredictable in a crowded "paint" as in free space. Last season, the Nets defenseman hit nearly 60% of shots within 2.5 meters of the rim.

“I can get to the right spot with one hit of the ball to the floor, or I can do without dribbling at all. Ball possession is complemented by footwork. I realized that I perform much more efficiently when I work intensively not only with my palms, but also with my feet. Then I get to deceive opponents with a movement of the head and shoulders, even with the look of , ”Irving admitted.

In 2012, Kairi helped prepare for the 2012 London Olympics for the US national team and took part in the training of the national team. Even then, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant experienced his ability to beat on themselves.

Irving's skills were appreciated even by the main showman of the NBA at the turn of the millennium - Jason Williams, nicknamed White Chocolate:

“I think Kairi is the best dribbler in history. He is able to get to any point on the court and uses the slightest gaps in the defense. He is very fast and also finishes with both hands.”

After each training session with teammates, the defender spends another 15-20 minutes individually and perfects his control over the ball. Basically, such classes are aimed at increasing the speed of the hands and working out new combinations of movements. Often, after two or three tricks, Kairi stops and makes a jump shot. The same happens 10-15 minutes before the start of the pre-match preparation of the team. Irving asks the trainers to defend against them and tries new tricks. Ideas for playing out do not always come from practice, often they arise in the imagination of a basketball player.

“I'm getting creative with this. I try various combinations, many movements and turn the training into work that I enjoy.

It's fun when your guardian doesn't know what you're up to. You can always go into the aisle, throw, give the transfer, ”Irving admitted.

The ability to keep intentions under wraps and at the same time escalate on the dribble allowed Irving to hit the main shot of his career - in the seventh game of the 2016 finals through Stephen Curry less than a minute before the end of the meeting. Steph to the last was afraid of the passage and backed away, and Kairi even made a deceptive forward movement, which was enough to break the distance and make a comfortable attempt.

Undoubtedly, many of us disagree with Kyrie Irving's views on the world around us. But he brings a piece of true basketball art to the floor, and for this he deserves real recognition. He is a great dribbler.

Photo: Gettyimages.ru/Andy Lyons

Kairi is a basketball genius. Only for him it's not a sport, but an art - Lantern - Blogs

Dude from another planet.

The series against Boston began with Kyrie Irving mocking not only the Celtics defenders and Celtics fans, but all the spectators in general. The most impressionable of us (LeBron James) once again showed the highest understanding of basketball - without waiting for the denouement, he wrote: "Damn, what a shame that Kyrie is not in the Top 75🤦🏾‍♂️."

At that moment, Irving was demonstrating why he is considered the most unstoppable small in basketball - he threw three-pointers at the hosts, and if they took a step towards him, he easily made his way under the shield, when the Celtics closed both below and on the perimeter, he still invented unthinkable tricks and rocked the league's best defenseman with crossovers.

It was Irving who kept Brooklyn in the game until the last seconds - Tatum and Marcus Smart had already taken care of him, but by that moment any defense had ceased to mean anything: Irving went into the astral plane and from there he designed another basketball masterpiece, and in this case, the level resistance means nothing. The power of the Boston defense, the tension of the last minutes, the pressure of the stands directed exclusively at him - this is just a background that emphasized his uniqueness.

What happened next is known. First, Irving ruined the first match for Brooklyn - ruined the decisive attack when he did not share the ball with his partners, despite the most primitive double-team, and slipped it only to Durant in the last seconds. He acted as an extra around whom Tatum turned around. Then he went missing - in the remaining three matches he has 4 out of 13, 6 out of 17, 6 out of 13 from the field.

And the most memorable episode was the demonstrative departure right during the second match and the subsequent appearance in the stands with containers and a banana. Every move Irving has made in the last three games has shown that the newly minted Muslim thinks more about food than any sporting achievement.

You can look into the Nets' problems as much as you want, but the main culprit behind the elimination of the preseason favorite in the first round does not need any clarification. Irving staged an irrational anti-vaccination riot, discouraged Harden from any further cooperation, missed more than half of the regular season games, which caused Brooklyn to barely make it to the playoffs and did not have time to really play, and then preferred religious salvation to complete dedication and neutralized himself in the very moment when his help was especially important to Durant, who was thrown half of Massachusetts.

If one could imagine that someone decided to destroy the club from the inside, what other ways could he advise the Brooklyn revolutionary?

Not to say that this surprised anyone. Irving's entire career has long shown that basketball for him is not a result at all.

Irving had a great life before LeBron James came into his life - went to the All-Star Games, bullied Kobe, ended the season in April ... It was LeBron who saw in him the ideal assistant and replacement for Wade: unlike him, the guy from Cleveland could shoot three-pointers and was still young and healthy. James met Irving at a time when he was still listening to someone other than the voices in his head - it was not easy, but LeBron got through to the 22-year-old and broke through the wall of alienation.

Everything happened right in front of our eyes: James yelled at Irving right on the bench - Irving answered him on the floor, for example, when he brought to life the first and most famous creation from his portfolio, those 57 points against San Antonio. James demanded an account for two disastrous games in the 2016 Finals - Irving came back with 30, 34, 41 or one of the greatest shots in NBA history. James turned on the cruise control - Irving overcame himself and spent 72 matches unattainable since then in the regular season. In those three years, Irving proved himself to be the league's most aesthetically pleasing superstar, but he never achieved autonomous recognition because he always felt as if he was being directed, forced, pushed (and does it clearly by whom and clearly why).

It soon became clear that personal abuse had indeed taken place. Irving demanded a trade to Boston because he "wanted the team to build more around him."

Kairi, more or less liberated (he not only got out of the influence of LeBron, but also gained complete freedom of thought process, which was immediately expressed in declaring the Earth flat), never gave him reason to think that the base interests of "ringchaser" James any close.

He wanted "everything to happen around him", but not to build his legacy as the first star of a championship team (as you might think). He missed Boston's first playoff, and defiantly failed to show up for Game 7 of the East Finals. Almost demanded a trade to the Knicks after his grandfather's death early the following season, and then finally broke the Celtics when he blew Hayward for passing not to him, but to Tatum in the end of the game with Orlando. The young Celtics did not accept the new leader's passive-aggressive style, which only added to the team's nervousness, so he decided that it was a waste of time to mess with unworthy students.

It was then that Irving found absolute freedom - mainly from "the opinions of people who prevent him from being happy."

His Brooklyn career is even further away from the Cleveland heights. In fact, it is generally quite far from any basketball. For the past three years, Irving has been the last player in the NBA. First, he is much more: a radical BLM supporter who tried to derail the continuation of the season in a bubble; a Native American culture aficionado who performs ceremonies to cleanse a Boston arena of evil spirits with sage; a Muslim zealously fasting; the chief anti-vaxxer in New York, because of the infringement of which crowds of supporters gather; and in general a person who "advocates for freedom in all aspects of life."

In English, this is denoted by the word “entitled”, that is, a person who sincerely believes that he knows the answers to all questions and can solve any problem, and perceives any failures as an unfortunate set of circumstances. His legacy on the court during this period is a few tough playoff games that can be counted on the fingers of one hand. And the same inexplicable self-confidence: Irving is both a general manager, and a coach, and a superstar no worse than Durant.

According to conspiracy theories, Irving should have been (and was) one of the top 75 players in NBA history. His name seemed to be on the final list, but then disappeared from there after he initiated an anti-vaccination crusade.

However, there is nothing in the very summary of his career that hinted at the necessity of his presence there. Irving spent most of his career on top teams with a few stars at his side, but didn't try very hard to turn that time into anything other than banknotes. He has only three hits in the symbolic fives. Every time an injury doesn't stop him, he stops himself. The exception is the period with James. But the entire stretch after parting with LeBron hints that in Cleveland, after the matches, he locked him in his basement and punished him every time Irving lost his rhythm and played not for the team, but for himself.

Irving scores the greatest hit in recent league history, but has he done more for basketball than regular-season ass-ripping Russell Westbrook, dragging Damian Lillard to one with his team, or Anthony Davis winning the Lakers title for LeBron? When did he overcome himself, showed a champion character, pulled out on his teeth?

The most amusing thing is this: one would think that Irving seemed to be uninterested in basketball. But that's not the case at all.

Kairi missed half of the season, did not train with the team, fought with everyone. But as soon as he was allowed to return, he showed up in optimal condition, showed his typical average numbers and produced several flawless matches. Before Durant's recovery, his performances were not very reflected in the winning results, so Irving without a second star is always not a victory, but a good mood. It is obvious that he is a born baller, that basketball is not just an unloved job for him, not an unpleasant obligation, which is hard to return to and pleasant to cut off, not only a source of income.

It's hard to deny that we've just never seen anything like it: Irving is a basketball genius that no one else can understand.

There have been various incidents in basketball history. There were players who ended their careers because of their passion for religion. There were players who did not hide their dislike for basketball and the fact that they do it for the sake of money. There were players for whom basketball was a way to escape poverty. There were players for whom what basketball gives them turned out to be more important than basketball itself. There were players who preferred drugs and alcohol to basketball, and then found that these substances are not compatible.

All of them, even some Dennis Rodman, nevertheless existed in the paradigm familiar to us.

Kairi, on the other hand, is a genius like no other in sports. Nothing and no one distracts him from basketball, he just looks at it in a completely different way. His case, rather, is similar to artists who are not understood and not accepted during their lifetime, in whom they see only oddities, but not virtues.

Van Gogh cut off his ear. Edgar Allan Poe abused alcohol. Oscar Wilde became famous only for obscene behavior.

Irving is sincerely devoted to basketball, but for him it is not a sport, it is not a fight for medals or personal prizes, all that ordinary people appreciate, and therefore all that is meaningless. For him, basketball is a full-fledged art, and he comes out with the mindset of the creator. His tools are magician's elusive dribbling, knock-down crossovers, feline softness of movement, irrational confidence in his own genius and perfect forms of movement.

Sometimes he gets inspired and makes everyone gasp: he didn't deserve a place in the top 75, but it's more or less generally accepted that in terms of technical performance and aesthetic effect this is a historical top 1. Sometimes inspiration does not come, and then he appears as an indistinct assistant to the first star (or, as we will always say now, a bus driver) - unreliable, without a certain position, not interested in involving partners in the attack, screwing up in his own half, unnerving everyone with a bad mood and a vile character.

In that sense, his shot in Game 7 of the 2016 final is a perfect example of that attitude. Irving strained at once to mine a unique token. After that, everything except the state of emergency does not interest him.

If we judge Irving by our down-to-earth standards, he will be remembered mainly as a career destroyer for the stars who weren't lucky enough to play with him. James was forced to cancel the Cleveland project after a patient defected. Gordon Hayward and Al Horford could have gone very differently. Durant is a fool if he hasn't already thought five thousand times that it was possible to endure nasty things from Draymond Green at least in every match, but see Curry point guard instead of Kyrie in place.

If we measure Irving by the standards that he himself offers us, then everyone should be grateful that the first basketball artist in history breaks into our house and creates masterpieces on the air. You can hate him for anti-scientific theories, you can make fun of him because of conspiracy theories, but you still can’t ignore the basketball player Kyrie: when he succeeds, this is generally the best spectacle that basketball and sports in general can give.

Learn more
© LeagueAthletics.com, LLC. and Groton Dunstable Youth Basketball League (2700). All rights reserved.   Visitor # 0
Server 2:221 in 0.11s.    //     Blog    //     Site Map