Andre Iguodala’s placement of Kyrie Irving on the all-time list is wild

Kyrie Irving Andre Iguodala (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Kyrie Irving Andre Iguodala (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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While Kyrie Irving‘s stance against the vaccine mandate has been the main headline of the Brooklyn Nets‘ season, that’s not the only thing up for debate regarding him.

Noticeably missing from last month’s NBA 75th Anniversary Team was the seven-time NBA All-Star, which many believe is a snub in itself. Recently, three-time champion Andre Iguodala took that much further in his placement of Irving in the history books.

Iguodala had already expressed the sentiment last month on Twitter:

Andre doubled down further when pressed on his opinion by The Athletic’s Sam Amick for his column on Friday (subscription required).

“Name 20 guys better than him,” said Iguodala. I’ll wait. I’ve got time.”

The piece then dives into their conversation about who should be above Irving in the all-time rankings, with Iguodala starting at the point guard position. According to him, only Magic Johnson, Stephen Curry, and Isiah Thomas stand above Irving as inarguably better than him.

The two mention other names like Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, and Allen Iverson, whom Iguodala played alongside in his prime. Arguing Iverson was more of a two-guard, Andre still went with Kyrie either way. “I’ve got Kyrie. There’s nothing this kid can’t do,” he continued.

Andre Iguodala’s argument is certainly debatable

Obviously, I’m not about to sit here and say I know more about basketball than a 17-year NBA veteran. I’m also not going to say Iguodala is objectively wrong because, well, these matters are all opinion-based anyway. I will say, though, I don’t think a majority of people would agree with him.

All the current drama aside and just judging on careers, I don’t believe many people would have guys like Iverson, Kidd, and Paul behind Irving in their overall rankings. If we’re talking top 20 most individually skilled players ever? Ok, that might be a different story. But we’re talking about multiple MVPs within that group.

Iguodala doesn’t put much value on individual accolades in his rankings, though, which speaks to how impossible it is to come up with one set criteria for such a list. If we’re taking those out of the equation, he makes a better case over some of the point guards, but we still have all the other positions to address.

Can you look at the above list and tell me Kyrie is a better overall player than 54 of them? I know I couldn’t.