Kyrie Irving’s Top 10 Crossovers

Kyrie Irving returns to Cleveland’s lineup tonight against the Lakers after missing 11 games with a broken finger. However, be very surprised if the injury, or the wrap he’ll cover it with, holds back Irving’s world-class handle much. Every elite NBA guard has his trademark element, whether it’s Russell Westbrook‘s power at the rim, Derrick Rose‘s sixth gear or Chris Paul and Deron Williams‘ Chess master vision. For Irving, it’s the change-of-direction on his handle and how using his crossover, he can get his defender going the opposite direction with a simple look or hesitation. Irving has played in but 61 NBA games at this writing but the timing is right, nonetheless, for a look at his top 10 career crossovers.

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10. DUCK SEASON
When Duke played Oregon in Portland in 2010, it was to get Kyle Singler a game in his home state. Mostly, though, the NBA scouts there came to watch Irving’s handle, a draw he made sure paid off when he came in from the left wing.



9. ATLANTA SPLIT
Once Irving got around Jeff Teague of Atlanta last season, Zaza Pachulia‘s matador defense wasn’t going to stop him from getting from the three-point line to the rim in two-and-a-half dribbles. I could quibble that help defense against Cleveland’s poor offense didn’t need to be so spread out as to allow an open lane such as this, but that’s beside the crossover point.



8. SPLITTING PHOENIX
The real masterpiece on this drive was Irving’s spin around Marcin Gortat, a move so polished and strong people pay for rides like that at parks. The split of Steve Nash and Gortat is subtle, I’ll concede that. However, when it sets up a spin such as that, it’s deserving.



7. COLGATE CROSS
Irving got in a two-disc set of highlights in just a handful of games at Duke, and this crossover on Colgate early in the 2010 season was one of the many. Because he didn’t play in any ACC games, his highlights came against mostly overmatched preseason defenders. We won’t count it against him.



6. STEPHEN CURRY GETS CROSSED
All alone on an island at the top of the arc, Stephen Curry couldn’t keep Irving in front of him. That no Warriors teammate of Curry’s could do any better given they saw him coming from 15 feet shows how fast Irving is with the ball in his hand. He doesn’t have the flat-out sprinter’s speed such as Ty Lawson or Westbrook, but his danger doesn’t end at the crossover.



5. RUSSELL WESTBROOK AND CO.
One of the ways Irving is so hard to guard is how he continues to pick apart defenses from inside with his crossover, well after his first move. That’s on display here, where his misdirection move throws off Oklahoma City at the paint, too, about three dribbles after he’d lost Westbrook over a screen. Some guards like to all-out sprint at the rim once they’re past the first line of defense. Irving? He’ll just as easily take his time to make another defender look foolish and set up an extra pass.



4. HIGH SCHOOL THROWBACK
I’m not sure this is entirely fair to put a high school defender here (Irving would be a No. 1 NBA pick less than 18 months later after this cross), but on pure crossover value alone this is a shoo-in.



3. MADISON SQUARE MIXUP
New York’s Iman Shumpert joined Irving as one of last season’s top rookies solely because of his active defense. A product of his length and quickness, he often was then-coach Mike D’Antoni‘s only defender worth his salt on most possessions. However, even he got caught by an isolation from Irving.



2. NETS TRIO
Irving’s compilation of three crossovers during last season’s game in Newark was notable for two of the players he crossed up: Gerald Wallace and Deron Williams.



1. TEAM USA
Taken at the first Team USA practice last July in Las Vegas, this video contains possibly the most mesmerizing 14 seconds of dribbling you’ll watch this entire year. It would be No. 1 even if Irving had pulled off this stretch in a gym by himself. The stretch is good enough to rival any magic show in Vegas, good enough to wonder where the fishing wire is that actually holds the ball afloat. But, not fishing wire and no empty gym here. He pulled these moves against some of the top 10 players in the entire world — Kobe Bryant, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and James Harden. While this could be his No. 1, 2 and 3 crossovers, it stays as a single No. 1 that is the bar for any guard in the league.

What was your pick for No. 1?

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