Among all of the crazy subplots going on during the 2023-24 NBA season, there's one that got lost in the shuffle: we saw a completely drama-free season for Kyrie Irving. For all of Irving’s otherworldly talents as a player, they’ve frequently been overshadowed by his off-court antics over the last few years.
There’s no need to rehash what’s happened in the past because it’s all on public record, and for obvious reasons, that’s a rabbit hole that's not worth going down. The point is, ever since he landed in Dallas, Irving has been a good soldier. You don’t even have to include a “for the most part” at the end of that sentence.
Many scoffed when the Mavericks gave Irving a three-year, $120 million contract after his chaotic tenures with both the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets. However, he has let his play do the talking. Though he did not make the All-Star team this season, Irving averaged 25.6 points, 5.2 assists, 5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. He was efficient too, shooting 49.7% from the field, 41.1% from 3-point range and 90.5% from the free-throw line — barely missing out on his second appearance in the highly exclusive 50-40-90 club. Had he reached that mark, he would have been the fourth NBA player in history to do so, joining Larry Bird, Steve Nash, and Kevin Durant.
Combine Irving’s numbers with a red-hot Mavericks team — 23-7 since February, 15-2 since March 7 — and this could potentially be bad news for the rest of the NBA. Let’s not mince words here: the 2024 NBA playoffs could very well be Irving’s redemption tour.
It’s been seven years since a team featuring Kyrie Irving did some real damage in the NBA playoffs, so it’s become easy to forget that Kyrie was unanimously considered a postseason basketball maestro. He may have one title to his name, but this is the same Kyrie Irving who helped Cleveland break a curse that lasted for decades. The same Kyrie Irving who went toe-to-toe with Stephen Curry when many believed he’d be outmatched. The same Kyrie Irving who hit arguably the biggest shot in NBA Finals history.
Kyrie Irving doesn’t get enough credit for his role in the Cavs’ 3-1 comeback in the 2016 Finals
— Everything Cleveland (@everythingcle_) June 11, 2020
Games 5-7 averages:
30.0 PPG
4.3 RPG
3.3 APG
1.7 SPG
1.3 BPG
52% FG
53% 3PT
100% FT
Also hit one of the greatest shots in NBA History 🔥 pic.twitter.com/47P6ruoOPy
Of course, team makeup had something to do with it — specifically, Irving’s partnership with LeBron James. LeBron and Kyrie’s basketball archetypes went together like chocolate and peanut butter. Because of LeBron’s offensive gravity as a scorer and playmaker, Kyrie, one of the league’s best one-on-one shot-makers, could easily exploit the inevitable holes that defenses left for him when they tried to blanket LeBron. They made easy work out of almost every single Eastern Conference team they faced from 2015 to 2017.
Of course, the passage of time has made many forget Irving’s dominance because he’s never been able to recapture the same magic since his partnership with LeBron ended in 2017. Don’t believe that? Check out his playoff history since then.
2018: Didn’t play because of season-ending knee surgery
2019: Eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in five games
2020: Opted not to play in the NBA Bubble
2021: Sprained his ankle in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals
2022: Swept by the Celtics
2023: Mavericks missed the playoffs
So, over the last six years, Irving missed three postseasons, and the other three he played in went down in flames because of team dysfunction (2019), an untimely injury (2021), or little roster continuity (2022). Now, while there is an argument that Irving himself shoulders much of the responsibility for why those teams failed, that’s not the point of why this is being brought up because the past is the past.
The point is, knowing Dallas’ latest success and how Irving has previously thrived in the postseason playing next to a heliocentric basketball titan, the 2024 NBA playoffs could serve as another reminder of how potent the 32-year-old star can be when he is in his comfort zone on the biggest stage.
In Luka Doncic, Irving is yet again the Robin to a player whose style is similar to LeBron's when the two of them shared the floor in Cleveland. Doncic’s abilities as a scorer and playmaker yet again give Irving the room to operate without feeling like he’s taking shots away from Doncic in the slightest. Much like LeBron, it feels like they make the other’s life so much easier.
The impact goes beyond what one sees from the game film. The Doncic-Irving pair have a net rating of plus-10.5 when they share the floor, per NBA.com. Only three Mavericks two-man lineups that have played 600 minutes or more have an equal or higher rating. That being Doncic’s pairing with Dante Exum (plus-15.4), his pairing with Maxi Kleber (plus-11.4), and Irving’s pairing with PJ Washington (plus-10.5). The difference is that those two players played nearly double the number of minutes any of those pairings have played despite playing only 51 games together.
The funny thing is, Irving played with another player who fit this exact offensive archetype between LeBron and Luka: James Harden. For what it’s worth, the Nets were well on their way to wreaking havoc in the 2021 NBA playoffs before Harden’s and Irving’s injuries cut their run short. It’s all relative: pair Irving with a one-man wrecking ball of an offense and it's usually when he’s at his best.
And if that’s not enough, consider his surroundings. We’ve seen the damage Luka can inflict when he has an excellent shot-creator in his prime by his side (see Brunson, Jalen). Factor in a Mavericks core that complements the star tandem nicely and looks much better than they did at the start of this season, and suddenly, Dallas has become the one team where one can’t help but ask, “Why not them?” Kyrie has been a part of that movie before, too. Remember when the Cavaliers didn't get off to the best start in LeBron's first year back? Then, they acquired players who were a better fit alongside James and Irving, and bam, back to the NBA Finals.
When the Mavericks brought Irving in, many laughed because his reputation off the court exceeded what he brought to the court, but he’s made the skeptics eat their words. Not only has he not caused any problems in Dallas, but he’s been every bit as good as he’s ever been. Now, he has the chance to remind everyone of the lethal playoff killer he once was.
With all of that out in the open, don’t be surprised if Dallas’ upcoming playoff run extends into late May, and don’t be surprised if Kyrie Irving is one of the primary reasons why.
