Brian Windhorst ranks Kyrie Irving comfortably ahead of Dwyane Wade and Luka Doncic as most-skilled teammate of LeBron James

Over the past two decades, Kyrie Irving has been one of countless star talents to be paired with LeBron James in the NBA. Years removed from their short time together, one analyst has the star guard atop an impressive list.

The Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Irving No. 1 overall in hopes of him being the new pillar of the franchise after LeBron departed for the Miami Heat. Things then changed in 2014 when the superstar forward opted to return to his hometown team.

Irving and LeBron went on to have a lot of success together, most notably winning a championship together in 2016. To this day, he is viewed as one of the 21-time All-Star's best running mates. While on First Take Wednesday, ESPN's Brian Windhorst even went as far as to say that Irving is more skilled than Luka Doncic and Dwyane Wade.

"If we're going to go with that word right there skilled, I don't think it's a debate," Windhorst said. "I think it's Kyrie Irving, he's one of the most skilled players we've ever seen in the history of the NBA."

At the age of 33, Irving is still one of the premiere guards in the league. However, his career took a nasty turn a little over a month ago when he suffered a torn ACL against the Sacramento Kings.

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LeBron James crowned Kyrie Irving as one of his most talented teammates ever

Brian Windhorst is not the only person who believes Kyrie Irving is LeBron's most skilled teammate. In the past, the LA Lakers star has uttered the same praise for his former running mate.

Back in February of 2020, LeBron joined fellow former Cavaliers teammate Richard Jefferson on his Road Trippin podcast. When the topic of Kyrie came up, he dubbed him among the most talented players he's ever got to share the floor with.

"Well first of all, Ky is one of the most talent players I've ever played with in my life," LeBron said. "The sh*t he was capable of doing on the floor, I had never seen before."

While their tenure together in Cleveland ended on rocky terms, LeBron and Kyrie Irving still have a lot of admiration for one another. Over the past few years, there have been countless rumors about them wanting to reunite in LA and Dallas.

It's worth noting that LeBron's comments came way before he was paired up with Luka Doncic this season. Nonetheless, it's clear that he too feels the All-Star guard belongs in the discussion for his best running mate.