Kyrie Irving was kindly positioned among the NBA greats by Bleacher Report.
It is difficult to pinpoint Kyrie Irving’s exact position in NBA history. With the Cleveland Cavaliers, he won an NBA championship and hit one of the biggest shots in NBA history in Game 7 of that series.
He was named Rookie of the Year in 2012 and was an NBA All-Star nine times, but he was only selected to the All-NBA team three times. However, his career has been anything from steady.
The Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets both had turbulent finishes to his careers, so when the Dallas Mavericks traded for him, many viewed him as a flight risk.
With his outstanding skill and leadership, the Mavericks made it to the 2024 NBA Finals, and he deserves a lot of the credit.
Bleacher Report recently polled its NBA writers to put together a list of the top 100 players in NBA history.
They ranked Kyrie Irving 69th, ahead of MVP winners Wes Unseld and Dave Cowens.
“Flash and substance have never collaborated so effectively as when they teamed up with Kyrie Irving.
Stephen Curry is perhaps the lone exception.
“Kyrie plays with the demeanor of someone who never left the playground but delivers results when on the court that make you wonder how he only has three All-NBA appearances. (The answer: Injuries…mostly)
His circus handles are so elusive, his touch around the basket so out of this galaxy, he definitely plays games within the game, challenging himself to add layers of complexity to otherwise routine possessions.
“Scoring takes center stage in all Kyrie discussions.
He deserves more credit for his passing. He proved (briefly) on both the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets that he could drive an entire system.
He deserves even more credit for regularly playing alongside other ball-dominant players.
“From LeBron James to intermittent stints with Kevin Durant and James Harden to his most recent partnership with Luka Doncic, Kyrie’s offensive scalability has seldom been in question.
And as if he needed any more ‘Holy crap!’ points, he made one of the biggest shots in NBA Finals history to help the Cleveland Cavaliers complete their historical comeback from a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors.”
Irving is one of three current Dallas Mavericks on Bleacher Report’s top 100 all-time list and one of nine players who have played for the Mavs.
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