Kyrie Irving played in the last three NBA Finals as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he isn’t playing this season because the Cavs traded him to the Boston Celtics in August.
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson certainly isn’t complaining about that, because he knows how difficult it is to guard Irving.
Thompson was asked by reporters Tuesday about the toughest players in the league to defend, and it didn’t take him long to mention Irving.
“I can’t tell you who’s the hardest to guard,” Thompson said, per 95.7 The Game. “I’m happy I don’t have to check Kyrie anymore, though, that’s for sure. That guy, he is tough.”
“LeBron, Kobe (Bryant), James Harden, Russ Westbrook, Dame Lillard, Kyrie,” Thompson added. “We’re so blessed. The league is full of so many great talents who all do things differently and at such a high level that you can’t relax any given night.”
Thompson suffered an ankle injury in Game 1, but he shook it off in Game 2 and scored 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting. He’s one of the reasons why the Warriors lead the series 2-0 entering Wednesday night’s Game 3 in Cleveland.
We might not have to wait long before seeing Thompson and Irving square off again on the NBA Finals stage. The Celtics should be the favorite to win the Eastern Conference next season if they don’t suffer more major injuries to superstar players.
