A major part of Kyrie Irving’s basketball legacy will be the incredible teammates with whom he has partnered.
He helped LeBron James win a title.
He’s working to do the same with Luka Dončić.
And the operative question as Irving begins his first playoff run with the Mavericks is this: Is it possible that everybody else is partnering well with Irving?
“For him to be able to be able to play with stars in this league – you could put him with the four best players in the world and you’re going to leave there talking about him,” coach Jason Kidd said. “That’s just how his game translates.
“You put him with four MVPs, he’s going to be the guy that everyone’s going to continue to talk about because his game is that good. For him, the season’s been incredible. And as we go forward, we’re going to need his leadership, his experience and (knowing) what it means to be a champion.”
Irving is ready to roll against the Los Angeles Clippers when the Mavericks’ first-round series begins Sunday in LA.
The 6-2 guard has answered every question about playing well with Dončić. The pair that started off so clunky after the trade in February, 2023, that brought Irving to the Mavericks has become a blissful marriage a year later.
It’s looking a lot like the sort of connection that Irving and James had in Cleveland, which produced a championship in 2016.
So does Irving feel like he’s partnered well?
“It’s been both,” he said of being part of a true consortium on the court. “I played with a lot of high-level thinkers, a lot of high-level players and a lot of players that push pressure on themselves to succeed.
“That can sometimes help or hinder certain partnerships. I’ve learned how to be more mature in my approach to people’s emotions. Win, lose or draw, I’m still going to love you. And that matters when you say that to somebody. Go out and do your best and win, lose or draw, we’re brothers.”
An amazing aspect of Irving’s career is how productive he’s been in so many situations when he was, in the eyes of some, the No. 2 option.
First it was in Cleveland and there’s absolutely no crime in being the lieutenant to LeBron. All Irving and James did together was reach back-to-back NBA Finals and win the ’16 championship.
Irving famously hit the three-pointer in Game 7 of that Finals series against Golden State that clinched the championship. In that series against the Warriors, Irving averaged 27.1 points, hardly part of a stat line associated with a supporting actor.
Years later in Brooklyn in 2021, Irving was partnered with Kevin Durant, not to mention James Harden. That was supposed to be a super team with no equal at the time.
Many circumstances derailed that team but it’s worth noting that Irving was third team all-NBA, an all-star and averaged 26.9 points that season – exactly the same number Durant averaged.
Now, he’s with Dončić, who is entering the peak years of his career. And over the 31-game stretch when Irving did not miss a game, he averaged 26 points, 5 assists and 4.9 rebounds. He made 51.9 percent of his shots and 41.1 percent from three-point land.
All of that sounds impressive, but it’s not much different than his season-long averages: 25.6 points, 5.2 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 49.7 percent shooting 41.1 from distance.
The point is that Irving has the mental toolbox to coexist with another great player.
And he has a flair for the dramatic while doing so, which goes back to Kidd’s assessment that Irving is as memorable as any player you will see.
“I believe part of it is innate, it’s in my DNA,” Irving says of the ability to shine when there are many stars alongside him. “My grandparents played basketball, my dad played basketball, my mom played basketball. But I also grew up in the five boroughs of New York, playing outside, playing indoors. And that’s what I grew up around, that entertainment level, going out to the park, trying different moves.
“Some of the greatest moves I’ve ever made, no one’s ever seen. But the most important thing is leaving with a win. Those flashy moves, you try to practice those enough to where it looks normal, trying to push the bounds of creative expression on the basketball court. It enables me to be who I am.”
And what he’s been for the Mavericks is nothing short of magical. He’s hit unlikely shots, like the lefty hook for the buzzer-beating win against Denver. He’s rolled up huge scoring nights, like the 48 points he had against Houston in an overtime win late in the season that kept the Mavericks on track to avoid the play-in tournament.
Asked what the difference is between this team and the one that lost in the first round to the Clippers in 2020 and ’21, Dončić simply said: “We have Kai.”
And it’s a motivated Irving, too. He just enjoyed his first 50-win season in six years and after missing the playoffs last season, he’s appreciating it even more now.
“He’s always on a mission, right?,” Dončić said. “He’s been playing amazing. On the court, off the court, he’s helping a lot of guys. He’s talking to us. So he’s been a great addition. I’m really happy we have him.”
So was there a time when the light bulb went off for the two superstars that this alliance was going to be a strong one?
“I knew it since the beginning,” Dončić said. “It’s Kyrie Irving. Everybody knows how he can play basketball. I knew since the beginning.”
Irving is not into comparisons, particularly between players or teams. But he does see some similarities of the bond between himself and Luka and the one he had with James.
“We just had a fluidity of where we were going to be on the court and we knew where we wanted the ball,” Irving said of playing with James. “There was a mutual respect there. When it was his time to take over games or it was my time to take over games, we allowed each other to do that.”
Did the two bristle at each other? Of course, all great players expect greatness from those around him.
“You never saw us get in each other’s face, but we did challenge ourselves and everyone else on the team to be better,” Irving said. “That’s what enabled us to be successful in 2016 and me and Luka are doing the same thing here. When you have somebody who can be challenged, just getting somebody going on a positive note goes a long way.
“When the going gets tough, you know you have somebody in the foxhole with you that’s ready to shoot all their ammo out. We need people like that that’s not afraid to empty their clip.”
An interesting aspect of these Mavericks is that almost all of them have played against Irving, as well as with him.
To at least one, it’s been an enlightening experience.
“As an opponent, playing against him, you never know what he’s going to do,” P.J. Washington said. “He has a counter for everything. No matter what defense you throw at him, he’s comfortable.
“Being his teammate, I get to see it on a nightly basis and see how frustrated people get trying to guard him. He’s been a great leader, a great big brother to everybody here.”
And that’s a two-way street, Irving said.
“It took a long time to get here,” he said. “I know what it feels like to fail for the last six years and not reach our team goals or individual goals. So I use that energy to get me prepared for what’s coming and dig deep into that will inside to lead some of these guys and also let them lead me because I’m going to need a lot of help, too.”
X: @ESefko
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