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MOUNT RUSHMORE|#NBA75 |￣￣￣￣￣￣| |￣￣￣￣￣￣| | MJ 89-92 | | Kobe 06-09 | |＿＿＿＿＿＿| |＿＿＿＿＿＿| |￣￣￣￣￣￣| |￣￣￣￣￣￣| | KD 17-19 | | Kyrie 20-22 | |＿＿＿＿＿＿| |＿＿＿＿＿＿| SCORERS || CLOSERS

@educationalball @_JasonLT Those are all traits of an elite #1 option. Number 2s need others to create for them/tilt defenses and this clearly isnt the case here. The only knock against him being an elite #1 is a misguided narrative from when he was 25 y/o

@educationalball @_JasonLT Best ball handler of all time, elite movement off ball, draws doubles 30% of possessions/creates advantage basketball, quick decision maker that doesnt turn the ball over, can beat every p&r coverage, best iso scorer of the 2020s, an atg closer and consistently shoots 50/40/90

People allowed Kyrie’s off-court stuff to distract them from the fact that he’s consistently been a top-20 player in the league for a decade.

@_JasonLT Nothing but narratives inform this take

He needs to play alongside a top-5 player for his upside to shine through, but his upside in that type of situation is a remarkable ceiling raiser.

@automaticnba @StephenCurry30 @KyrieIrving @isaiahthomas @JoelEmbiid @TheTraeYoung @KingJames @warriors Do you have the FTr?

Most clutch points per minute (TS%) in the last 10 seasons (min 200 clutch mins played) 1.07 — Stephen Curry (62.5%) 1.00 — Kyrie Irving (59.7%) 0.99 — Isaiah Thomas (61.4%) 0.98 — Joel Embiid (61.7%) 0.95 — Trae Young (56.6%) 0.94 — Ja Morant (52.7%) 0.93 — LeBron James (56.6%) Not only clutch player of the year, but clutch player of the last decade 👨🏽‍🍳

@BillyReinhardt The evidence says otherwise Nets were at their best with just kyrie on the floor over harden + KD/kyrie were +10 on a good sample. We had the bucks down 50 in the 2nd round and wouldve won the chip without harden if not for giannis reckless play

NBA fans need to do a better job understanding the difference between offensive engines and elite scorers. Having a balance between the two is key. I think part of why KD & Kyrie never truly dominated as a trio over a sustained period was that neither is an offensive engine. Of course, both are capable playmakers, but they’re more elite playing off a creator, with their role simplified to put the ball in the hoop. Look at Kyrie, his best seasons have come alongside offensive engines — LeBron James, James Harden, Luka Doncic — where he can operate as the off guard, not be burdened to involve others, and just go attack. KD the same way, best playing alongside offensive engines like Steph Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook who can get downhill consistently and/or shift the defense to create for others. Having an elite offensive engine versus elite scorers guarantees that a team’s shot profile is analytically friendly & keeps others involved throughout games. Need to get consistent paint touches, drive & kick, and free throws to generate good offense.

@8big_foreheads @PlayboyKai_ @craigcartonlive He said kai top 25 ever hes good in my book just a slight misstep on the way

@TheDunkCentral @craigcartonlive @TheCartonShow He cooked. 4th best guard to ever do it ahead of steph curry at 5

"Kyrie Irving is one of the five greatest guards to ever play the sport of basketball." - @craigcartonlive (Via @TheCartonShow )

@NekiasNBA Refs changing the rules on foul baiting makes kyries TS% that much more impressive compared to his contemporaries post asb Hes over 62% while steph/dame/ant/fox and the rest are sub 60% . Hes always been the best player/scorer from the bunch. Now the context shows it

They’re both having 50/40/90 seasons if we tracked it like we’re supposed to (2s/3s/FTs) but that’s an argument for another day lol

@HoopMuse Hes gonna be at this level till 36. Only question now is how many rings can he get over the next 5

Kyrie has like 5 dunks this season Gotta be a career high fs Entering prime in his 30s 🤔

@statmuse 3 best players from the 2017 finals. Longevity >>>

Players with 25/5/5 on 40+ 3P% this season: — Kyrie — KD — LeBron The first season in NBA history with 3+ players averaging these numbers.

@Hatedzs Dray didnt tell a lie tbh Two things can be true - kyrie is less bothered by defense than KD, while KD is a mount rushmore level player

Kyrie is definitely one of the greatest scorers but to say he’s in the same caliber as KD or even a tier higher is fckn insanity

@RacksBundles @kingdj_5297 Ill never get why ppl think that man seen single coverage Who started this lie on here?? He seen the exact same coverage as kd

You can't make the game hard for Kyrie Irving? Explain what he did in that Celtics series with single coverage

@TheDunkCentral @kyriecenterig KD been knowing this too Kyrie is on mike / kobes level of basketball mastery

“Kyrie Irving is the scorer that everyone thinks of Kevin Durant.” - Draymond Green (h/t @kyriecenterig )

@NarayanSomesh @HannibalLeonar4 @OmTweetsAlot lmao lukas producing 1.09 ppp on iso in an offensive scheme designed around him. How is that the most efficient play for the mavs?? For reference kyrie produced ~1.2 ppp on iso last year Help enlighten me offensive guru

@studythegoat @HannibalLeonar4 @OmTweetsAlot Nba teams and organisations are not stupid. Specially now with analytics. FYI a Luka iso is the most efficient offensive play for the mavs. They put the ball in his hands because he can handle it with his scoring and passing. You don't understand what an offensive engine is

This doesn't even make sense. Luka is by far the best guard in the NBA. And has an argument for best offensive player ever. But the media will ignore him like they always do. Respect greatness. This isn't normal

@NarayanSomesh @HannibalLeonar4 @OmTweetsAlot None of them had the benefit of having the ball for 10 minutes a game. Volume is kicking yall ass fr Id add dirk bird kawhi joker steph bron to the list that easily boots luka from top 10. Theres more too

@HannibalLeonar4 @OmTweetsAlot Bro do you understand offense is not just scoring. None of mj kobe tmac were elite passers. Luka repeatedly outplays kd again and again h2h. And Kyrie is on his team but is second fiddle to him. None of them compare to how Luka can take over a game with scoring and passing

@MEdwardsBball @offdarecord_ @swishcultures_ Kyrie protects it better on the drop opening up more counters. The two best guards in basketball rn

Same Movement, But Who Did it the Best?! 😈 Who Ya Got, Kyrie or Shai…🙏🏾 *Shoutout @swishcultures_

@MEdwardsBball Once the league stops favoring offensive players foul baiting and start calling a loose whistle like fiba people will finally get how elite this dude is Pound for pound the best ever

Not One Wasted Movement Here….Do Ya’ll Even Understand What Your Watching?! 🫣 No Movement Was PreDetermined, they was all Spontaneous and Organic! #PoetryInMotion

@joelvmoran Whats the ORTG with kyrie on and luka off?

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have shared the court on 1,399 possessions this season. On those possessions: 122.6 ORTG 113.7 DRTG +8.9 Diff For reference, the Celtics own the #1 ORTG at 121.8, the Pelicans own the #7 DRTG at 114, and a +8.9 differential would rank 2nd in the league, per cleaning the glass When Luka and Kyrie are on the court together the Mavericks are the best offense in the NBA and a top 10 defense.

@_Kyrieinthe4th_ 🔥🔥🔥

This dude so elite man ⛰️

@seanbush3 No whats surprising is how little he has the ball when luka is playing

Lol is it supposed to be surprising that Kyrie has the ball in his hands a lot longer when Luka is not playing?