Love him or hate him, there's no denying that Kyrie Irving is one of the top point guards in the NBA today. But don't take our word for it. It would be better coming from someone who actually played alongside Kyrie for several years — a guy like former Cleveland Cavaliers forward Iman Shumpert.

Speaking on a recent appearance on Gilbert Arenas' podcast, Shumpert shed some light on his experience as Irving's teammate with the Cavs. Shump dropped a truth bomb on why Irving is able to strike fear in the hearts of his opponents:

“You know what's scary about Kyrie? He's one of the only players that'll play against you with no plan,” Shumpert said. “… He’d rather play defense on offense. He's defending the ball and keeping the ball away from you. He starts his point of attack and lets you dictate how this is gonna go.”

According to Shumpert, Kyrie Irving is the type of player who waits for his opponent to make his first move. He's a counterpuncher of sorts, reacting to his defenders' initial jab. Irving waits for the opposition to commit mistakes before making them pay for their fault. More often than not, this ends in sensational fashion in Kyrie Irving's favor.

The Mavs are hoping for more of the same from Kyrie this coming season. At this point, there's no guarantee just yet that the enigmatic point guard will be back in Dallas for 2023-24, but Dallas is operating under the premise that it's going to be the Luka Doncic-Kyrie Irving duo that will lead the charge for them this coming year. Things didn't exactly pan out as planned in their first half-season together, but you can be sure that this duo will be looking to bounce back this season.