From 2014 to 2017, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James were the most formidable duo in the league. Due to their natural talent, chemistry, and offensive prowess, they took the Cleveland Cavaliers from obscurity into the championship picture.
The duo with Kevin Love helped the Cavs make three consecutive NBA Finals and even win one. Kyrie became an ideal running mate for superstars like LeBron because his skill set always complemented them, a strength the Duke product would use for the rest of his career.
"Being around a great player, especially of his stature, for a certain amount of days consistently, if you don't get better, then I feel like you're kind of wasting a lot of your time and talent," Kyrie said to SLAM in 2016. "I take it as a unique opportunity to develop as well as continue to grow in my quest to greatness. I have a lot of great mentors and a lot of great people that I'm around every single day that I'm very thankful for."
The optimal running mate for almost any superstar
Over the past decade, Kyrie has played with multiple superstars and had natural chemistry with all of them. His partnership with LeBron is legendary, especially with the epic comeback during the 2016 Finals. The same goes for his time in Brooklyn with Kevin Durant and James Harden, when he was a reliable catch-and-shoot player with a vast isolation skill set when given the ball, but off-the-court issues plagued his time in the Big Apple.
Nowadays, he is Luka Doncic's primary running mate. They are fresh off a run to the NBA Finals , which they lost, but the future is bright for the duo. Luka works well with Kyrie because he can trust Uncle Drew to be a reliable offensive partner.
Kyrie realized he could be a perfect complementary piece when playing with LeBron. He has the perimeter shooting to play off the ball, but when the shifty guard has the ball, he is tough to stop. His offensive bag is arguably the deepest in NBA history, making him one of the most challenging matchups for defenders.
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Kyrie has a tremendous legacy as a star
Despite being second fiddle to most superstar teammates, Kai still has a tremendous legacy as a star player. He is such a tremendous player that he is not considered a sidekick by most people but a running mate. Irving has all the strengths of a star, but he is usually the second go-to guy.
Thankfully, Kyrie has not complained because he just wants to win and have a role in the victory. Irving's name is already etched in NBA history with his game-winner in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals, but he continues to write more chapters in his superb career.
He might have been a running mate to superstars. Still, Kyrie is a fantastic player who has proven himself to be one of the most impressive players in the NBA over the past decade and somebody who a whole generation of guards is trying to copy.
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