Kyrie Irving hails LeBron James as "arguably the greatest of all time" while lauding Luka Doncic's ascension
Kyrie Irving had high praise for his former championship teammate, LeBron James, as well as his current star teammate, Luka Doncic. This came during the post-game interview after the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday to go up 2-0 in the Western Conference finals.
After being acknowledged as an all-time great veteran in the league, Irving hailed James as arguably the greatest of all time while lauding Doncic's ascension to be an all-time great player.
"Watching him (Doncic) ascend into becoming an all-time great is amazing and I don’t take it for granted because I played with one of the greatest of all time, arguably the greatest of all time… I want to be supportive and continue to be an all-time great next to him, continue to show him the ropes, and let him continue to fly.”
Kyrie Irving recorded 20 points, four rebounds, six assists, and one steal in the game as the Mavericks secured a 109-108 Game 2 win to clinch both games on the road and steal home-court advantage from the Timberwolves.
Meanwhile, Luka Doncic led the Mavericks' victory charge on Friday with a triple-double performance of 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists. The five-time NBA All-Star also came up clutch with a three-point dagger to put the Mavericks up 109-108 with three seconds left in the game.
Though Kyrie Irving has been a part of various NBA superteams since his departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017, he has failed to find much success in the league.
However, since being acquired by the Mavericks in 2023, Irving and Doncic have displayed a similar championship chemistry on the court that Irving previously had with James. That chemistry helped the Cavaliers clinch the NBA championship in 2016.
Luka Doncic makes NBA history in Mavericks- Timberwolves Game 2
Despite the reigning DPOY, Rudy Gobert, guarding him in the game, Luka Doncic put up a spectacular triple-double performance along with the game-winning shot on Friday.
The Mavericks star also made NBA history in the game, becoming just the fourth player ever to record four triple-doubles in a five-game span in the NBA playoffs alongside Nikola Jokic, Magic Johnson and Wilt Chamberlain. Doncic previously recorded triple-doubles in games 4,5 and 6 as the Mavericks defeated the OKC Thunder in six games in the Western Conference semifinal series.
Having almost recorded a 30+ point triple-double average in the regular season, Luka Doncic is also almost averaging a triple-double in the playoffs with 28 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 9.3 assists in the 14 postseason games he's played yet.