Kyrie Irving certainly has no shortage of confidence, but Jason Whitlock believes the star point guard might have gotten a little carried away with his self-evaluation.
Irving recently garnered headlines while projecting his legacy, noting he’s going to be “one of those guys” like LeBron James. Whitlock, however, thinks the Boston Celtics superstar should pump the brakes before comparing himself to his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate.
“Is Kyrie delusional? I say yes,” Whitlock said Wednesday on FOX Sports 1’s “Speak For Yourself.” “You don’t play your way into LeBron’s position. You’re anointed, you’re chosen by the NBA and the league. They decide we’re building the league around you. LeBron didn’t play his way into it. They put him on the cover as the chosen one and the league got behind it — and his talent demanded that. But Kyrie doesn’t have that kind of once-in-a-lifetime, generational talent. He’ll never be LeBron. Kevin Durant can chase all he wants. Zion Williamson has a chance. They may choose to build the league around him. But it won’t be Kyrie Irving.”
To be fair, Irving probably wasn’t directly comparing himself to James, who all but certainly will be regarded as one of the top two basketball players ever when he decides to walk away. Irving very well could have been expressing his career aspirations, and at 26, he has plenty of time to bolster his already impressive résumé.
Irving can get that ball rolling as soon as this spring and summer, as the Celtics possess more than enough talent to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.
