Kyrie Irving preferred over Steph Curry by Shaquille O’Neal in one major skill: “[Kyrie Irving] would be a ten and Steph Curry would be a nine”

Kyrie Irving and Stephen Curry are two of the best point guards the league has ever seen and perhaps the two best point guards in the game in the 2010s.

While both are score-first point guards, their MO for scoring differs drastically. While Curry prefers to be as far from the basket as he can bet, Irving relies more on crafty moves to penetrate and finish under the rim.

However, neither is without what the other excels at.

Curry has a formidable handle, far better than most point guards who have played in the league and can finish around the rim at a very high percentage. This season, Curry is shooting 78.8% within 0-3 feet of the rim, 60.9% within 3-10 feet of the rim.

Similarly, Irving, has an outside shot. Kyrie is a career 39.1% shooter on 5.8 3-point attempts a game. Last season, Irving shot 41.8% from 3-point range on 8.2 attempts per game.

However, arguments have often spurred comparisons between the two as they play the same position and have faced off several times in the playoffs, most notably in the Dubs' defeat in the 2016 NBA Finals.

Shaquille O'Neal threw his hat in the ring. When asked about whether Irving was the best finisher and ball handler, O'Neal responded:

"Yes, but he would be a 10 and Steph Curry would be a nine. Yes, he's the best ball handler, especially in traffic, and the best under-the-rim finisher."

O'Neal isn't the only former player to have vouched for Irving's abilities. Tracy McGrady, too, puts Irving above Curry when it comes to handles.

"It has to do with the handles, the creativity with the handles,” McGrady said in an interview last week (via) NBC. "Although Steph has good handles and can get his shot, it’s not like Kyrie's, though. And it may be because of the flashiness. There’s a difference when I watch both of those guys handle the rock.

"I think Kyrie's bag is a little bit deeper than Steph's. I’ll use that term: The bag is deeper. Steph has a bag. But it’s not Kyrie's bag.”

The Kyrie Irving-Steph Curry comparison

Shaquille O'Neal's clarification that while Kyrie Irving is the best, Steph Curry comes mighty close is why Curry clearly has the upper hand in these conversations.

Irving is a brilliant ball handler, but is nowhere near as close to Curry at shooting as Curry is to Irving at ball-handling. While Irving is an all-time player, Steph Curry is, in the books of many people, top 10 all-time.

Accolades, numbers, off-court presence, global value, in almost any category that you might think of, Curry has an edge over Irving. Curry is a two-time MVP and Finals MVP, four-time champion, and besides an NBA title, Irving lacks all of these accolades. Curry also made the NBA's 75th Anniversary team. Irving did not.

So, while Kyrie Irving might trump Curry when it comes to crafty dribble penetration, Steph beats Irving by a long shot in most other categories.