Find out where Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving rank amongst top NBA duos
By Austin McGee
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Flashback to 2018, the Dallas Mavericks drafted the 19-year-old EuroLeague MVP with the 3rd overall selection. With former superstar Dirk Nowitzki on the tail end of his magnificent career, the Mavs found another generational talent.
Since Doncic came to Dallas, the Mavs have failed to surround him with a second star, that is until this past season. Although the Mavs tried to pair Knicks sensation Kristaps Porzingis with Doncic, his inability to stay on the floor hurt their chemistry.
In February of 2023, Dallas traded for 8-time All-Star Kyrie Irving. Doncic's best teammate ever. Doncic had never shared the court with a player to make an All-Star team in the same season as he had. This streak may end this year with Irving, as he and Irving could both make the All-Star game this season (Irving made it last year, but he wasn't on the Mavs for the whole season).
Find out where Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving rank amongst top NBA duos
Finally, the Mavs have two superstars on the same team, possibly for the first time since Nowitzki and Steve Nash shared the court in 2004.
The Mavs were unable to retain Nash's services for long, as he ultimately hit his peak playing for the Phoenix Suns. As soon as Nash returned to Phoenix, he won back-to-back MVP awards.
This time around, Dallas did everything they could to retain their superstar point guard whom they acquired via trade. This off-season, the Mavs retained Irving for three years and $126 million in the first hour of free agency.
Now with the Mavs fielding a superstar backcourt for the foreseeable future, let's take a look at how the other teams in the association compare with the Mavs dynamic duo.
On Wednesday, Greg Swartz from Bleacher Report ranked the NBA's top superstar duos. He had the Doncic and Irving duo at number five. But my list looks a little different.
But first, some honorable mentions will be named here, as only five of the top duos are ranked in this exercise.
Some honorable mentions include Joel Embiid and James Harden, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo and either Khris Middleton or Jrue Holiday, and Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.