The Dallas Mavericks have an embarrassment of riches of some sort, as they are headlined by two of the best point guards of their generation.
Luka Doncic has been stellar in the past seasons, with the 2023-24 campaign arguably being his best. He averaged career highs of 33.9 points and 9.8 assists per game. Meanwhile, Kyrie Irving may have been needed to play out of position alongside Doncic, but he has still dished out 5.4 dimes per contest in a Mavs uniform.
They have proven to be one of the top duos in the league by leading Dallas to a Finals appearance, defeating some of the West’s most formidable contenders along the way.
Despite the achievement, Irving and the Mavs continue to be disrespected by some folks in the media. Last season, the former NBA champion poked fun at ESPN for grading the trade that landed him Dallas a D. He and his squad had the last laugh after booking a trip to the 2024 playoffs and then advancing to the championship round.
While such an achievement should have made doubters learn their lesson, that doesn’t seem to be the case. HoopsHype recently released a ranking of the top 30 point guards ahead of the 2024-25 campaign and inexplicably placed Irving at No. 11.
The reasoning behind the decision is that while he registered outstanding numbers in the regular season and the first three rounds of the postseason, his performance against the Boston Celtics “left something to be desired.”
In addition, the author argues that Irving has not made an All-NBA team in the past three years and has missed a significant number of games in the previous campaigns.
The logic behind putting him at such a low spot might be somewhat valid. However, some of the players ahead of him on the list were nowhere to be seen once the 2024 playoffs’ second round rolled out. Perhaps the Mavs coming out on top of the West didn’t factor in that much in the ranking.
Based on Dallas winning and his production on the court, Irving has proven to be a top-10 point guard.
As a consolation, HoopsHype has Doncic as the best point guard of the coming season. After having clinched an All-NBA First-Team berth in each of the past five seasons, there is no other backcourt player who can claim to be better than the Slovenian superstar.
The only thing missing in Doncic’s resume, aside from a championship, is an MVP award. However, Irving believes that wouldn’t be the case anymore “very soon.”
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