3 reasons Kyrie Irving will be the ultimate teammate in Dallas this season

Kyrie Irving recently held his media availability for the Dallas Mavericks last Thursday, September 28. Irving and Luka Doncic held their media availabilities separate from everyone else on the Mavericks, who all talked to the media on Dallas' designated media day last Friday, September 29.

This was a good move by the Mavericks' PR staff, as it gave Doncic and Irving the opportunity to talk ad nauseam instead of being relegated to the mere 10 minutes that every other player on the team got to speak during their media availability.

3 reasons Kyrie Irving will be the ultimate teammate in Dallas this season

It was a pleasant sight to see how happy Irving was on media day. With Irving being one of the more colorful speakers and visionaries in the NBA, it was interesting to see just how in-depth he went on some of the questions he was asked. We didn't get to see Kyrie talk to the media outside of a few times at the tail end of last season and he didn't hold an exit interview either.

Kyrie Irving's media day availability left many Mavs fans even more confident in his on and off-the-court fit in Dallas. Here are three reasons why Kyrie Irving will be the ultimate teammate next year in Dallas.

3. Leadership

Kyrie Irving recognizes his position as a leader on this Dallas Mavericks team. Head coach Jason Kidd already talked about the trio of Doncic, Irving, and new addition Grant Williams as some of the more prominent leaders on this year's team in a recent radio appearance on 97.1 The Freak.

Irving has unfortunately drawn the label of "bad leader" from certain portions of the Dallas Mavericks fanbase. Say what you want about Irving's off-the-court dilemmas the last few seasons, but the 31-year-old is clearly centripetally focused on this season and elevating his fellow teammates.

Irving seems to have a good grip on being one of the bigger leaders on this Dallas team, as he understands the importance of continuity and team-building activities between teammates but also has a solid understanding of when to apply pressure or constructive criticism toward teammates.

Irving had plenty of quotes alluding to his excitement about the ensuing season as well the opportunity to build chemistry between teammates during his media appearance he made last Thursday, September 28.

"It's been fun to think about going to Abu Dhabi, going to Madrid, and having an opportunity to play in front of an international community that supports the game of basketball. We can build camaraderie. This is what I was talking about last year when we got to get out and get to know one another on different planes or different environments. I feel like we get a chance to do that overseas. It is a quick training camp, but we can't make an excuse for that.

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- Kyrie Irving

Irving had this to say in regard to how him and Doncic will be able to lead Dallas next year:

"We must continue to have that consistent mentality and lead the team as best we can alongside other guys with experience in this league or young guys we have to coach even more. It's all been a learning experience."

- Kyrie Irving

Irving is poised to be a great leader for all of his teammates, but for younger players on the Mavericks, he'll be a great mentor as well. He is slated to start next to both Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper during the preseason, and his leadership should pay dividends early on.