NBA Player

Kyrie Irving

The most creative handle in the game, finishing through any defender.

BNBA Player Handles Magician

Scouting Report

Strengths

+Maxed, crowned handle that breaks down any defender
+Elite three-level shot-making off the dribble
+Crafty, acrobatic interior finishing

Weaknesses

–Slight frame and low power in traffic
–Not a primary rim protector or defensive anchor

Kyrie carries a crowned 5 handle, and on a tight 3v3 floor that’s the whole ballgame — he can break a defender down any time he wants and get to the exact spot he likes. Back the crown with 5 twos and 5 threes and there’s no safe way to play him: drop off and he pulls; crowd him and he’s already gone past you. He’s got 5 speed and 5 stamina to keep doing it all game, plus 4 passes to punish the help the moment your handle collapses the defense.

The catch is on the same card. He’s a 2 in power and a 2 in dunks, with a 3 on Guard — so he wins with shiftiness, not muscle, and he isn’t the one anchoring your back line. Get him into traffic against bigger bodies and the finishes get harder; he’d rather wiggle into a runner than try to power through a chest.

In the Zone: Ankle Breaker. It bumps his already-crowned Handles and lets even his base dribble tricks put a defender on the floor. Once you’ve got the meter, isolate, chain a hesi into a cross, and read the stumble — then drive the open lane, rise for the pull-up, or kick to a shooter off the collapse. Don’t stand on it; every possession in the window should have the ball in his hands.

Run him with a rim protector and a catch-and-shoot threat. Let a big like Giannis or Bam cover the paint his 2 power can’t, and park a spot-up shooter on the wing so the lane his crossover opens always has a place to spray the ball.