The Flashy Point Guard
The world loves flashy passing, shooting and dribbling, hey even I do! If you ask a NBA fan who are their favorite point guards in the league, a large percentage will say Kyrie Irving or Stephan Curry. How can you not like both? One is the best shooter in the NBA, shooting with flair and given an inch of space will drill any shot he likes. The other is scoring phenomenon with the best handles in the NBA that made plenty of guards caught in his spin cycle (Sorry Jason Kidd) effortlessly. The thing is if you ask the question who is the best PG in the NBA, you will get the same answer.
The public has chosen these young premier guards as the best point guards in the NBA because of pure flash and skill can be mistaken. I ask this question all the time, why someone would select Kyrie Irving over guards such as Derrick Rose & Russell Westbrook. Rose & Westbrook can score, pass, rebound and most importantly plays defense (Let’s not forget the abundance of high-flying highlights as well).
While both are exceptional offensive guards, it doesn’t equate on the opposite end. Listen, I am not calling them a defensive liability but they would to have to make great strides on this aspect to be in the “Best” conversation. Favoritism is superseding the actual term of being the best. Recently in the ESPN NBA rankings, both Curry and Irving were in the Top 10, excelling players such as Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade and Derrick Rose. While Curry brought his team to the 2nd round of the playoffs, Irving has yet made the postseason. Granted Irving is only 21, there is still room for improvement and this year could be it.
The present question is that are both Curry and Irving the best PGs in the NBA? The answer is no as long as Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo and Tony Parker are still in the league. Not denying that they cannot slip into the fifth spot of the top point guards in the game but can both Curry and Irving elevate their game that proves without a doubt they belong in the conversation? Only time will tell, but I have no problem with Curry continuing his 3 point barrage or Kyrie crossing a whole team for a reverse layup.
