Oh yeah, it’s time to get real spicy in here. Before the 2020-2021 NBA season, we voted the best Point Guards in the NBA. Kyrie Irving was voted 3rd. We recognized that he was crazy talented but was also coming off an injury. 3rd felt right. He was behind Steph Curry and Damian Lillard. Now? Fuck all that. Kyrie Irving is the best PG in the league. Steph Curry? Exposed without Klay Thompson and frankly Kevin Durant. Damian Lillard hasn’t been bad, but it seems obvious that Kyrie has been outplaying him.
To be fair, all 3 of these point guards are in the same tier, tier 1, for PGs. Actually, depending on the night I might agree with any order you put. But recently, Kyrie Irving looks like the best PG in the league without a doubt. This take is spicy enough to cause controversy but could just be true.
Steph Curry only played 5 games in the 2019-2020 NBA season. His ineffectiveness was soon forgotten as the season went on. However, the loss of Klay Thompson due to injury was felt, just as Steph Curry struggled. Curry eventually broke his hand and was supposed to be out for 3 months, which just turned into a year-long injury. As Klay had an unfortunate injury before the season, Steph is by himself again…and it shows.
Curry has 26.5 PPG on 41.3% shooting to start the season, that is before his 62 point explosion against the Blazers. That includes shooting 31.8% from 3. He also averages 7 APG and 3.8 RPG. His stats are great. The only problem I have is he’s leagues better than the next best player on the Warriors and his stats should reflect that. I mean surely replacing Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant with…*checks notes* Andrew Wiggins and Kelly Oubre Jr. would make him have to score more.
Steph Curry looks like a great player; one of the best PGs ever even but a limited one that needs better players to win. Before we overreact, in 2015, the Warriors did beat the Lebron-led cavaliers, who had many injuries. They lost to a healthy Cavs team in 2016. That’s when Draymond cried for KD to come, and when he did, the Warriors and Curry were unstoppable. It’s different now, Curry is by himself and proves that he can still win without much help.
This isn’t a dig on Curry, he’s still a generational talent and the best 3 point shooter ever, but maybe we associated the Warriors’ success with him rather the team as a whole. Time will tell.
That brings us to the other PG considered better than Kyrie in Dame Lillard. This has been the best Blazers team on paper and it just hasn’t excelled yet. It is the start of the season but come on, there’s not a lot of excuses I can make for them. If I can’t make excuses for them, then I can’t make any for Dame. The guy hasn’t been dealt the best hand in the NBA, but at what point is it not enough? Damian Lillard has to come with results, his talent isn’t enough if there are no results.
While I can say Kyrie Irving might be the best PG, his argument has flaws too, there’s no doubt. Kyrie has never been THE guy and succeeded. That includes this year and his years of success with Cleveland. Other than playing with LeBron or KD, he hasn’t had the best track record. However, he’s playing out his mind this year. He’s already averaging 27 PPG on at least 48% shooting, which includes close to 40% from 3. He also averages 6 APG and 5 RPG. As the 2nd man in Brooklyn; that’s absolutely crazy.
Could this just be the start of the season exaggeration? It’s possible. Could Steph Curry turn the Warriors around and prove that he’s indisputably the best PG in the league? Maybe. Will Dame finally win with the Blazers with a stacked roster? He could. The whole point of this is that Kyrie Irving has arrived and he’s ready to cause controversy on who’s really the best PG in the league and I’m all for it.
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