Isaiah Thomas has been a beloved figure among Boston Celtics fans for years, but he has risked angering them with a take that has raised plenty of eyebrows. Thomas and DeMarcus Cousins were ranking the best players in the 2024 NBA Finals on BuLLy Ball when the 35-year-old stated that Kyrie Irving is better than Jayson Tatum.
“I am,” Thomas said when asked if they were both putting Irving over Tatum. “I’mma go with that. I am a big Kyrie fan… I’mma just rock with that.”
(starts at 0:45 mark):
Isaiah Thomas says Kyrie Irving is better than Jayson Tatum 👀
(🎥 @allthesmokeprod) pic.twitter.com/zFFnME4tse
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 4, 2024
It has become pretty clear over the years that players hold Irving in very high regard, but this was a bit much. As great as he is, I don’t think there is actually a case that can be made for him to be ranked over Tatum.
Irving is averaging 22.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in these playoffs for the Dallas Mavericks. It has been a very good postseason run for the eight-time All-Star, but he has been a bit up and down.
Irving averaged 15.7 points per game in the series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but hardly received any criticism for that. I am not saying he should have, but I can imagine the outrage if Tatum had only managed that in a series. He was being criticized for averaging 21.8 points per game against the Miami Heat in the first round, which shows these two are just not held to the same standard.
As for how Tatum has fared in these playoffs as a whole, he is averaging 26.0 points, 10.4 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game. The five-time All-Star hasn’t shot the ball all that efficiently thus far, but that’s the only knock on him.
I don’t think Irving has done enough in this postseason to be regarded as the better player of the two, especially when you consider how wide the gap has been between them in recent years. Tatum has made the All-NBA First Team three years in a row now while the last time Kyrie even made an All-NBA team was back in 2021 (Third Team). As I said earlier, there really isn’t a sound argument to be made in favor of Irving here.
Isaiah Thomas Believes Celtics Have Five Of The Best Seven Players In The Series
While Thomas thinks the Mavericks have the two best players in this series, he isn’t all that high on the rest of the players on the roster. When Rachel Nichols stated that five of the best seven players in this series are on the Celtics, the two-time All-Star agreed. (starts at the 2:26 mark in the above video):
“Yeah, that’s the difference,” Thomas said. “Their five is amazing.”
While the likes of P.J. Washington, Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, and Derrick Jones Jr., have all impressed, I think it’s fair to say each of the Celtics’ starters would rank ahead of them. Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Kristaps Porzingis are all just better.
That advantage is why Thomas is picking the Celtics to win the series. Earlier in the episode, he backed them to win in five or six games. I also think the Celtics have a slight edge here and believe this series will go at least six games.
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