Find out where Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving rank amongst top NBA duos

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.

5. LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers

Coming in at number five is all-time great, Lebron James, and superstar Anthony Davis. If this ranking was created a few years ago, James and Davis would easily be number one, no questions asked.

However, entering the 2023-24 season, James will turn 39 years old, and Davis, with a lengthy injury history, will turn 31.

Both James and Davis have had great success playing with one another. In AD's first year in Los Angeles, he helped the Lakers win their 17th title. As recent as last season, Davis helped lead the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals.

Of course, this ranking depends on James' longevity and if he can still compete at a high level in his age 39 season. Although James has been slowed by injuries in recent years, he is coming off a season where he averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game. A stat line that has never been seen before at such an advanced age.

This duo is the oldest ranking on the list, but both players are consistently fantastic when they're on the floor. And unlike Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, you can count on James and Davis to at least play 40 or more games together every season.

4. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks

Surprisingly, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving aren't the least experienced regular-season duo on the list. Doncic and Irving played in sixteen games together last season. A small sample size, with less than promising results.

The Mavs went 5-11 when both Doncic and Irving played in games together this past season. Although the duo had a positive net rating (4.6), their partnership did not result in wins.

However, the newly formed duo should not be at fault for the Mavs' shortcomings. Dallas sent away their best defender, Dorian Finney-Smith, in the trade for Irving.

With Finney-Smith off the roster and Irving in the fold, the new Dallas roster had to figure out a different play style. Rather than a roster constructed around Doncic, with spot-up shooting and solid defenders, the Mavs relied on a backcourt full of offensive firepower. But this roster lacked defensive stoppers.

This off-season, the Mavs reignited their porous defense, or at least attempted to. Dallas added multiple promising defenders through the draft, Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper. Additionally, the Mavs acquired former Celtics antagonist Grant Williams via sign-and-trade.

With all these new additions and another year of improvement from Josh Green, look for Doncic and Irving to be surrounded by a team capable of making up for Doncic and Irving's shortcomings.

3. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum may be the best duo on the list. They have the youth, and the prototypical NBA builds to spearhead deep playoff runs for years to come in Boston.

The reason Brown and Tatum aren't rated higher is because they don't necessarily benefit one another. The same argument could be made for Doncic and Irving, but Brown and Tatum are close to being clones of one another on the basketball court.

Although Brown and Tatum's play styles are different, both players are in the same mold of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Both 6-foot-6 to 6-foot-8 wings who can score on or off the dribble on offense, and defend the opposing team's best wings.

Brown and Tatum do have plenty of success together. The duo led the Celtics to the NBA Finals in 2022. And last season, Brown and Tatum parlayed their success into an Eastern Conference Finals appearance.

The high-powered duo has appeared in 366 games together and will continue to play alongside each other for years to come. Brown recently signed a five-year $304 million extension. And Tatum's extension looms on the horizon for Boston.

If Brown and Tatum can come out on top by winning an NBA Championship together, then their ranking will surely rise in a future iteration of top duos. But for now, Brown and Tatum sit a solid three.

2. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets

Quite possibly, the most notable duo in the NBA comes in at number three. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray have played their entire careers in Denver. Most importantly, this duo won a championship together this past season.

Jamal Murray is the worst player on this list, but that's certainly not a knock on his ability, as the other players who appear are multi-year All-Stars, MVPs, and All-NBA talents.

Murray has yet to make an All-NBA team, better yet, he hasn't even made an All-Star team. But, Jokic and Murray have formed an elite partnership.

Watching Murray work alongside the two-time MVP Jokic is a beautiful sight. From Murray's cuts to his possessions as a pick-and-roll ball handler with Jokic as the roll man, this duo can make an offense look glorious.

Jokic is quite possibly the best passer in the NBA, and Murray is at the receiving end of plenty of Jokic's wonderful dimes.

During game three of the 2023 NBA Finals, Jokic and Murray set a record for most assists to each other in a finals game with eleven. The record they broke? Their own in game one, where they assisted each other nine times.

Jokic and Murray work together as the best duo in the NBA. The only thing holding this duo back is Murray's lack of accolades. This tandem might work the best together, but it's hard to rank as the best in the league when half of the duo hasn't made an All-Star appearance. Although, that should change in 2024.

1. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns

This is the best duo in the league. The same complaint can be made here as it was made with Doncic and Irving. But, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker do have success together in limited action.

In the regular season, Durant and Booker appeared in eight alongside each other. In those games, Durant and Booker went 8-0 alongside one another. In the playoffs, the Suns didn't have the same success, but the duo still showed evidence of superstardom.

For instance, in the series against Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray's Nuggets, the duo averaged a combined 60.3 points, 14.4 rebounds, and 13.8 assists per game. Although a small sample size, those combined averages blow all other duos out of the water.

As for points per game, the 60.3 points Durant and Booker averaged against the Nuggets would place them first in the association, right ahead of the other new duo, Doncic and Irving.

While Durant and Booker lack quality game time with each other, they make it up for their current skill level and career accolades. Durant is a 2-time NBA Champion, and Booker made the NBA Finals, leading the Suns squad at 24 years old.

Durant is getting older, at 34 years old, he's entering the twilight years of his career. But, like LeBron James, Durant has shown no signs of slowing down. Injuries have played a role in limiting Durant, but when he's on the court, he's a top-10 player in the league. And perhaps the most efficient high-volume scorer the league has ever seen.

This past season, while splitting time with Brooklyn and Phoenix, Durant shot a blistering 56% from the floor, 40.4% from beyond the arc, and 91.9% from beyond the arc. Yet another 50-40-90 for the former Texas Longhorn, his second.

Watching Durant and Booker share the court for a full season will be one of the NBA's most exciting storylines. Adding All-Star Bradley Beal to the mix as the third option makes this quite possibly the most intriguing storyline in the NBA.