Kevin Durant voiced his opinion recently when he said he thinks the Cleveland Cavaliers starting point guard Kyrie Irving, is better than Hall of Famer Allen Iverson. Perhaps KD may have still been buzzed from all the champagne and beer after the Warriors NBA Finals victory over the Cavs on Tuesday night. On "The Bill Simmons" podcast KD says, "Kyrie is better than AI to me." He also says, "I'm going from, like, skill to skill," and Irving's "handle is better."

The comment has caused a major Debate around the world of basketball fans considering what Allen Iverson was able to accomplish during his era.

No doubt Kyrie is a great player, but to say that he is better than AI has to have a serious argument to it that has to be justified in the end. In this case, KD's comments just aren't good enough to back up his statements.

Allen Iverson the answer

In 1996, the Philadelphia 76ers selected Allen Iverson with the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. Philly fans immediately embraced AI as the guy they knew would give them the best chance of winning an NBA title since Julius Erving and Moses Malone did in 1983. Iverson was indeed the answer the team was searching for. AI easily took home the Rookie of the Year award in his debut season. However, his biggest highlight of the season was when he crossed over Michael Jordan, who is considered by most the greatest of all time.

After that, AI was able to carry the entire city of Philadelphia and 76ers franchise on his back for 10 straight seasons. In 2001, he led the 76ers to the NBA Finals in probably the greatest MVP season the NBA has ever witnessed. He averaged a league-leading 31.1 points per game. Although the 76ers would lose to the Kobe-Shaq duo and the Los Angeles Lakers, he stunned L.A.

in game one of the 01 Finals by leading the Sixers to victory on the road while scoring 48 points.

AI is also a four-time NBA scoring champion, two-time NBA all-star MVP, and he also went to the all-star game 11 straight seasons from 2000-2010. Aside from the stats, Iverson made it cool to be yourself as an NBA player. His patented crossover moves are used by current NBA stars such as Kyrie Irving.

So, for Kevin Durant to say that Irving is better than AI is a bit extreme.

Kyrie Irving 'Uncle Drew'

Like Iverson, Kyrie Irving was a No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Irving although he had a season-ending injury that kept him out most of his one-and-done season at Duke University. So his addition to the Cavs was celebrated by fans, but there was no promise that Irving could turn around the entire franchise on his own. In his first four seasons with the Cavs, Kyrie was never able to lead the team to the playoffs. Prior to the return of Lebron James during the 2014 off-season, Irving was a subject of trade rumors due to his inability to make the Cavs a contending team.

Since the return of Lebron, Irving has been able to reach heights that he probably would have never reached on his own. That factor alone is what separates him from being better than Allen Iverson. However, due to the homecoming of Lebron in 2014, Kyrie has something AI never held and that is an NBA championship ring. But Iverson is a Hall of Famer that changed the game of basketball forever. He also never had the luxury of playing alongside another superstar the caliber of Lebron James. With what little talent he had to work with, Iverson made the best of it.

That is something Kyrie Irving has proven he doesn't have the talent or skills to do. So, therefore, Allen Iverson is the better player!