Kyrie Irving has a mixtape a mile long of him breaking ankles and hitting opponents with mind-boggling crossovers, but one former player has better handles, according to Tracy McGrady.
The NBA has seen more than its fair share of inventive ball-handlers. From Bob Cousy, Magic Johnson, Allen Iverson, and Kyrie Irving, the league has always had a wizard flashing moves that fans have never seen before.
More often than not, the excellent handles add scoring prowess to a player’s repertoire, and the best ball-handlers are remembered as Hall of Fame talents.
Irving has a case to be the best dribbler of all time, and his nine All-Star nods cement his spot in Springfield, although one former player thinks an overlooked player has him beat.
Tracy McGrady’s 15-season career saw him overlap with Irving, Iverson, Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Jason Williams, and Stephen Curry. All of those players have an arsenal of moves to create space and embarrass defenders, although McGrady thinks someone else takes the cake.
“You remember Jamal Tinsley?” McGrady asked on an episode of The Young Man and the Three. “I don’t think nobody had better handles than Jamaal Tinsley, even Kyrie.
I think Jamaal Tinsley’s handles were probably the best I’ve seen. That’s an argument, though.”
Tinsley was never a teammate of McGrady’s, so this isn’t an instance of T-Mac giving a close friend some praise or credit. He played 11 seasons in the NBA and was never an All-Star. In fact, he averaged only 8.5 points per game during his career, although he could dribble with the best of them.
“He was nice, with that thing on the string,” McGrady finished.
In 2007, he went viral for dribbling through Yao Ming’s legs while playing against McGrady and the Houston Rockets. He would score 22 points in that game to go along with six assists, although the Indiana Pacers lost by ten points.
In his 11 seasons, he played in 70 or more games three times. Tinsley had lingering foot issues, as well as a buyout dispute between 2008-09 with the Pacers, which limited his on-court time.
In seven seasons with the Pacers between 2001-2008, he averaged 10.4 points and seven assists, serving as a solid starting point guard when healthy. However, he was not the best defender and was not much of a shooting threat, making 29.9% of his attempts during his career.
| Teams | GP | PPG | APG | RPG | SPG | FG% | 3PT% |
| IND, MEM, UTA | 547 | 8.5 | 6.1 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 39.3% | 29.9% |
In 2001, he became one of 15 players in NBA history to record a “5×5” game, posting 12 points, 15 assists, nine rebounds, six steals, and five blocks. Tinsley, Nicolas Batum, Marcus Camby, George Johnson, and Jusuf Nurkic are the only non-All-Stars to ever record that feat.
While he has some flashy highlights and a pass-first acumen, he was not a complete player like Irving, Iverson, or Nash were, and was unable to find the same amount of NBA success.
