Kyrie Irving's crazy shot-making is due to growing up with 'missing pieces on the backboard' says Im

While the world says much about Kyrie Irving, almost everyone is in lockstep with the genius of his basketball play. 

Likelier those who watched Uncle Drew in the lab have a greater appreciation for his artistry. 

Upon former Cavalier Iman Shumpert’s revelation, the admiration for Irving’s skill can only increase. 

Speaking to fellow ex-NBA players, Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes on their All The Smoke podcast, Shumpert revealed how Irving is able to repeatedly make the difficult look easy when banking shots in off the glass. 

‘What y’all don’t get to see is him explain to you that he grew up playing on a rim that was missing pieces on the backboard,’ Shumpert said to the stunned pair. 

Iman Shumpert – a former teammate of Kyrie Irving’s – dropped the bomb on All The Smoke

Shumpert and Irving were teammates as the Cavs came from 3-1 to win the 2016 NBA Finals

The Mavericks star is known for, among other things, his incredible ability to finish off the glass

‘So, that’s how he learned those weird angles to twist the ball off of, because his backboard was missing pieces.’

Jackson replied ‘that’s crazy,’ before Shumpert gave further details on how Irving navigated the challenge. 

‘So he learned how to look forward, spin it, to where it could hit the left side, go in on the right — because he don’t have a backboard to put it on the other side. I’m like “Dog, that’s insane.”‘

Shumpert and Irving were teammates when the Cavs came from 3-1 down vs. Golden State to win the 2016 NBA title. 

The pair were together for the following season before Irving demanded – and received – a trade from the organization. 

Irving recommitted to the Dallas Mavericks – his fourth NBA franchise – agreeing to a three-year, $126m deal in June. 

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