After a disastrous 2022-23 season, the Dallas Mavericks are in position to return to the NBA playoffs. Although they have struggled a bit after winning eight of their first two games, they’re in seventh place in the Western Conference with a 19-15 record, and they’re among the league leaders in team offense.
The Mavs are heavily dependent on their terrific star duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. Through 18 games, Irving is putting up 22.5 points and 5.1 assists a game, and even if his numbers aren’t the most impressive this year, he is one of the game’s most skilled players.
Several years ago, after demanding the Cleveland Cavaliers trade him, he was sent to the Boston Celtics. He was joined there by sharpshooter Gordon Hayward, who had just gotten a big free agent contract from the Celtics. Unfortunately for them, Hayward suffered a horrific season-ending injury just minutes into their season opener that year.
But it didn’t prevent him from witnessing just how special a talent Irving is. He told the Los Angeles Clippers’ Paul George that Irving is the “most talented player.”
“I’ve been blessed to play with some super-talented players, but I’ve never seen anyone as talented as Kyrie with the ball,” said Hayward. “You’re watching stuff that he does courtside like, ‘What did he just do?’ I would never see him work on it, it would just happen. I’ve seen the famous clip of him dribbling through everyone at Team USA practice, I was on the court for that. To me, he is the most talented player, especially for his size. He’s not the most athletic, not the quickest, but he’s got it all.”
NBA News & Rumors: Gordon Hayward, Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks Updates
Some have described Irving as a smaller version of late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. He doesn’t have Bryant’s low post game, but he is considered the greatest ball-handler in NBA history. His ability to split double-teams and traps like a squirrel burrowing through a small hole is second to none, and he’s also a brilliant outside shooter and finisher around the basket.
Irving, a native of North Jersey, is also one of the game’s most feared players come crunch time. In Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, he hit a 3-pointer with about a minute left that broke an 89-all tie and lifted the Cavs to their first-ever world championship.
His stints with the Celtics and Brooklyn Nets may have been failures, but he seems content in Dallas right now, and if he and Doncic get a little more help, perhaps Dallas could have something to say about how the West is won this year.
