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Kyrie Irving plays like one of the best players in basketball, so the Brooklyn Nets star believes that he deserves to be on the NBA's Top 75 team.
In honor of the NBA's 75th anniversary, the league released a list of the 76 greatest players in its history. While there were a few notable exceptions, one of the bigger ones was Irving.
The seven-time All-Star and two-time champion spoke about the snub on "The ETCs with Kevin Durant" podcast:
"I really admire a lot of the talent that has come through our league that has really set cornerstones and foundational shots, pathways for people to follow right or to achieve better, to want to achieve better. So I can't sit here and debate. You know whether or not I was or I wasn't. I can only tell you how I feel, and absolutely I feel like I deserve to be on that top 75 list."
Irving also believes he has a strong case for receiving that honor:
"simply because I'm part of the revolution of this game, and that's what drives me – as well as to continue to spark the next brain that's going to be part of this 0.03% of billions of people. So, it's not going to be for everybody."
Being a part of the revolution of modern basketball is a solid start to the case for being on the list. The star also looks at himself as someone with a mastery of basketball.
While Irving believes he belongs on the list, other superstars believe he deserves that recognition.
LeBron James believes Kyrie Irving belongs on the NBA 75th-anniversary team
LeBron James has been one of the faces of the NBA for almost 20 years and has been both a teammate and an opponent of Irving.
Since he has a unique perspective on Irving and is one of the members of the Top 75, his acknowledgment of the snub carries some weight.
While James and the other analysts who believe Irving belongs on the list are only people with opinions, their opinions fit with Irving's belief that he was snubbed.
With many who have witnessed and played in the revolutionized basketball game vouching for him, Irving may have substance to his argument.
Guess the Lakers players!
