Kyrie Irving is on the wrong side of 30 — he turned 32 in March. Guards generally start to decline rapidly at that age, but Irving looks as good as ever.
"You watch the movie Benjamin Button?" Irving asked reporters after a recent win. "What if I'm getting more athletic in my early 30s? It appears to be the case, with no screws in my knee, with no almost bad ankle? It took me a few years to get healthy."
Better health is just one component of why Irving has not experienced much dropoff in Year 13 of his career. He also landed in an ideal situation in Dallas. He and Luka Doncic have looked great together, and a renewed Irving is why every team should fear the Mavs in the playoffs.
MORE: Victor Wembanyama should be an All-Defensive Team lock
Kyrie Irving is looking more spry than ever
Kyrie has always been a terrific tough shot-maker. That remains true this season. He's been dangerous from all three levels, hitting incredible layups, almost 50 percent of his midrange shots and over 40 percent of his 3s. His handle and touch are still unparalleled.
Irving also looks more physically healthy. He joked with reporters about setting a career-high in dunks. He did it shortly thereafter with a hammer he threw down in a win against the Jazz.
Two days shy of his 32nd birthday, Kyrie Irving tied his career-high for dunks in a season (4) with this one last night. pic.twitter.com/uOayEXWIUJ
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) March 22, 2024
Irving has benefited a ton from being the secondary option on the Mavs. While his 25.3 points per game is slightly down from his time in Brooklyn, he's getting his points more efficiently. His 40.6 percent from 3 and 59.8 percent true shooting are both well above his career averages. And his turnovers are by far the lowest of his career due to not having to force nearly as much. He's getting easy shots playing next to Doncic.
That's been a two-way street. As Doncic has made Irving better, so too has Irving.
MORE: LeBron James & JJ Redick podcast: Explaining defensive idea for 'America's play'
Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic are an unstoppable duo
Don't let the Mavs' sixth place in the standings fool you. They've been an awesome team when they've had both Kyrie and Luka together, going 28-15 in those games. That winning percentage would have them right outside the top three teams in the West comprising the Thunder, Nuggets and Timberwolves.
The Mavs' offense has been a freight train in Kyrie-Luka lineups. There may be questions about defensive fit given both are below-average on that end of the court, but only the Celtics score more efficiently than the Mavs' 121.9 offensive rating with both on the floor.
Most of the pieces on this roster are new, and it's taken them a bit to get acclimated. The chemistry that they are now developing with each other is a beautiful thing to watch.
Irving and Doncic have been terrific together. Perhaps even more importantly, they've also been great when apart.
Everyone knows that Luka can win a playoff series by himself. But the Mavericks' kryptonite has been when they have leaned on him way too much, making him exhausted at the end of a series. That's been out of necessity — they couldn't hang last year in their non-Luka minutes, getting outscored by 2.8 points per 100 possessions with their star on the bench.
Irving solves those problems. When Luka takes a breather and hands the reins over to Kyrie, the Mavs are winning those minutes by 1.5 points per 100 possessions.
Irving has more than enough juice left to carry those lineups. He's averaging 42.3 points and 10.5 assists per 100 possessions on a stellar 63.3 true shooting percentage without Doncic, essentially stepping into that Luka role of do-everything playmaker.
MORE: How Luka turned his step back into one of NBA's best signature moves
This was the idea behind getting Irving in the first place, and it's working. He's making it hard for teams to double Luka in the post, he's mixing up the options at the end of games (his lefty game-winner against the Nuggets was the shot of the year) and he's making it so that the Mavs don't sink like a stone without Doncic.
We've seen throughout the years that both players are also more than capable of elevating their games in the postseason. Stars matter more in the playoffs, and the Mavs finally have a legitimate second guy to give opponents trouble.
Luka is going to be Luka, and a renewed Kyrie makes Dallas a team that nobody should want to face in a seven-game series.
