Wednesday night featured a rematch of the Western Conference Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Dallas had the last laugh in the 2024 NBA playoffs and had the same result in their 120-114 win. Luka Doncic made the dagger 40-foot three-pointer to seal the game with a minute left.
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However, Kyrie Irving’s name has flown under the radar amid all the noise. Although he is recognized as one of the best guards in the league, ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins believes he’s on the same level as Minnesota’s All-Star.
Perkins took to ESPN’s ‘NBA Today’ to make an extremely hot take concerning Irving. Anthony Edwards captured the hearts of fans and basketball professionals across the world with his performance in the 2023-24 season. Perkins argues that Irving wasn’t far off. He said,
“Let me remind y’all, last year Kyrie Irving his numbers were identical to Anthony Edwards. That means he was playing at an All-NBA level.”
The take from the 14-year NBA veteran isn’t far off. Edwards earned a spot on the All-NBA Second Team. He finished with 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. Irving wasn’t far off with averages of 25.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game.
Irving only played 58 games on the season, seven games shy of the NBA’s mandatory 65-game threshold for individual awards. Perkins continued to point to Kyrie’s stellar play as the reason the backcourt of Doncic and Irving is one of the greatest in NBA history.
Perkins bestowed the title of “the most skilled backcourt ever” on Doncic and Irving. Their performance against the Timberwolves supported his stance. Kyrie led Dallas in scoring with 35 points. The 6-foot-2 guard stepped up amidst Luka’s struggles from the field.
Although Doncic shot just 37% from the field, he still finished with 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. He topped it off with the game-sealing shot to solidify the victory.
Comparison between Irving and Edwards
Perkins’ comparison of Edwards and Irving is not as crazy as would seem. The two players don’t differ all that much statistically. The real distinction lies in how these players’ advanced numbers impact the performance of their clubs. With a net rating of +8.9 in the 2023–24 season, Irving was in the 89th percentile of the league.
Edwards surprisingly hosted a net rating of +3.8 during the 2023-24 season. That mark etched him in the 73rd percentile.
Defensively, Edwards sets himself apart. In the 2023-24 season, opposing teams scored 7.2 fewer points with Ant on the court. Irving had a positive impact as well, but not as great as Edwards. Opposing teams scored 2.5 fewer points with Irving on the court.
The statistics display that Perkins’ comments were justified. The 2024-25 season could pan out completely different and separate Edwards from this discussion. However, until that happens, the stats suggest that Irving and Edwards were within the same tier of players in the past season.
