5 Kyrie Irving dribble moves that are pure sorcery

4. Kyrie threads a needle that no one sees but him

Sometimes you’re impressed by the tightness of Kyrie’s handle. Sometimes you’re impressed by his ability to misdirect with his body. Sometimes you’re impressed by his ability to see something a half-second before anyone else. Sometimes you’re impressed by his ability to do it against the NBA’s best defenders. And sometimes he checks all those damn boxes in one play.

Here, he uses his strength to take a hit from Malcolm Brogdon, draws a double-team from Khris Middleton, shrinks himself so that he can spin through an opening that he would only be able to actually see if he had eyes in the back of his head, and then freezes the shot-blocker with a hesitation before he drops in the tear-drop. I can’t decide if it’s more impressive that he could make himself compact enough to spin through the double-team or that he even had the awareness to try.