Former NBA player heaps massive praise on Celtics star Kyrie Irving

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Kyrie Irving is enjoying a fantastic season for the Boston Celtics, and one of his former teammate paid the C's guard a huge compliment during Friday's episode of "First Things First" on FOX Sports 1.

Richard Jefferson, who played two seasons with Irving on the Cleveland Cavaliers, including their 2015-16 championship season, said the superstar point guard can be the best player in the NBA on any given night. Check out his full comments in the video below.

Jefferson also seems skeptical of the Toronto Raptors' chances of beating the Celtics in a seven-game playoff series. He questions if the Raptors have enough talent to take down the Celtics, especially given the fact Boston is the deepest team in the league. 

His comment about Irving is pretty interesting, though. When the Celtics guard is on top of his game, few players are capable of dominating offensively to the level he can. We saw it last month when Irving dropped 43 points (18-for-26 shooting) on the Raptors in an overtime win. He's in a group of less than 10 players who you absolutely need to win a championship. Let's not forget Irving has averaged 28.1 points per game in the last two NBA Finals he's played in. 

The Celtics are the best team in the East if Irving remains healthy for the entire season. He also gives them a fighting chance to beat the Golden State Warriors in a potential NBA Finals matchup. He's beaten the Warriors before, and this C's roster is deeper and more talented than those Cavs teams. 

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