Top 100 NBA Players: #80 - Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving

Teams

Cleveland Cavaliers - 2011-17

Boston Celtics - 2017-19

Brooklyn Nets - 2019-present

Playoffs

Appearances - 5 (2015,2016,2017,2019,2021)

Conference Finals - 3 (2015,2016,2017)

NBA Finals - 3 (2015,2016,2017)

Championships - 1 (2016)

Awards and Honors

Rookie of the Year - 2012

All-NBA Second Team - 1 (2017,2019)

All-NBA Third Team - 2 (2015,2019,2021)

*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)

All-Time Ranks

Free Throw Percentage - #16

Points Per Game - #30

Three-Pointers Made - #59

Assists Per Game - #73

Three-Point Percentage - #75

League Leads

Free Throw Percentage (#3-2017, #4-2021)

Kyrie Irving was a highly-touted prospect when he enrolled at Duke University in 2010, and his play through 8 games backed it up, but a toe injury caused him to miss most of the season, returning just in time to play in the tournament, where they fell in the Sweet 16. Still, it didn't stop the Cleveland Cavaliers from making him the top overall pick in the NBA Draft that summer.

It took no time for Kyrie to adjust to the NBA game. As a rookie he averaged 18.5 points and 5.4 assists and was a near-unanimous Rookie of the Year, and he's been better every year since. He bumped his scoring up to 22.5 the next season, and he was averaged over 20 points per game in 8 of his 10 NBA seasons so far.

Irving also missed quite a bit of time that year with various injuries to his hand and face, and injuries have been one of the only things holding him back from MVP-level greatness. LeBron James joined the team after Irving's third season, and the pair led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, but a knee injury cost Irving 2 games in the conference finals and the final 5 games of the NBA Finals, which the team lost to Golden State.

Kneecap surgery stemming from the previous year's playoff injury cause Irving to miss the beginning of the 2015-16 season, and he finished the season scoring below 20 points per game for only the second time, but in the playoffs, he definitely left his mark. After falling behind 3-1 in the NBA Finals, Irving and LeBron each scored 41 points in Game 5, becoming the first pair of teammates to surpass 40 in the same game in Finals history, then Irving hit the Finals-winning shot in Game 7 to earn his and the Cavaliers' first-ever title.

The next season was his personal best in the NBA. He averaged 25.2 points and 5.8 assists and shot over 90% from the free throw line for the first time. He also helped guide the Cavaliers back to the NBA Finals for the third year in a row, and had another 40-point game in that series, but they wouldn't be able to earn a repeat championship, and Kyrie was even left off of the All-NBA Team somehow.

After that season, he requested a trade, because he wanted to be the star of his own team rather than LeBron's sidekick, and the Cavs obliged by sending him to Boston. His first season with the Celtics was going really well until the team determined that he needed knee surgery about a month before the end of the regular season. The hope was that he would be back in time for the playoffs, but he ended up missing the entire postseason after another surgery was required on the same knee.

After one more season in Boston, Irving left in free agency to join the Brooklyn Nets. He scored 50 points in his debut game with the team, becoming the first player in NBA history to achieve that feat. Unfortunately, he suffered a shoulder injury less than a month later that would cause him to miss a couple months, and after returning for about a month, the team shut him down for the season to have surgery on the shoulder.

Last season, Irving became the 9th player in history to join the 50-40-90 club, shooting 50% from the field, 40% from deep, and 90% from the free throw line, and he became just the 4th to do it while scoring more than 25 points per game, joining Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Larry Bird. 

Irving has missed a lot of time due to injury so far in his career, but when he's on the court, he is a great scorer and a very efficient shooter. He was a very big part of 2 NBA Finals teams, and hit the championship-winning shot in 2016 to cap off a very strong playoff. He has one of the higher scoring averages in history, and still has a lot of years left in his prime to build on it, but he has already done enough to be considered one of the greatest to ever play the game.