Kyrie Irving has his very own Discord server, A11EVEN, and on Thursday, he answered some fan questions there. One question was who are his top five favorite players to watch in the NBA, and Irving surprisingly left off some big names like LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
Irving went with Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, Jimmy Butler, and Trae Young. While his not including LeBron or Durant was interesting, the names he did mention are certainly more than capable of getting anyone off their feet with their dazzling displays on the court.
The eight-time All-Star seems to be quite an admirer of Edwards, in particular. In 2023, Irving had endorsed Edwards wearing No. 10 for Team USA, by stating it was not a coincidence that some of the best of the best had worn that number.
The 22-year-old has garnered a lot of praise from all corners in recent times, and Edwards was also named among the reserves for the 2024 All-Star Game. He’ll be teaming up with Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander, with both of them previously being announced as starters for the Western Conference.
Butler and Young, meanwhile, ended up being snubbed from the team for the second straight season. Butler not making it in wasn’t a huge surprise, but Young probably was the biggest snub.
Getting back to Irving, he was also asked the question that has been asked countless times over the last few years: Nikola Jokic or Joel Embiid? His answer? They’re both great.
Irving was also asked whether Dwight Powell apologized to him for injuring his right leg. Powell had fallen on Kyrie’s leg in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers on December 8 which led to the 31-year-old missing 12 games. Irving made it clear there were no ill feelings whatsoever over it and stated that Powell had apologized.
Irving gave some love to promising young big man Dereck Lively II as well, as he is in the midst of a fine rookie season.
Irving also shared that Uncle Drew 2 is on the way, with only some work on trademarking needing to be done before it comes out.
Uncle Drew was released in 2018, and Irving’s fans have eagerly been waiting for the second installment. They have also been waiting for a short while now to see him in action.
Irving has missed the last five games for the Dallas Mavericks with a right thumb sprain, with Dallas going 2-3 in that time. This 2023-24 campaign has been an injury-hit one for Kyrie as he has only played in 27 out of a possible 48 games for the 26-22 Mavericks.
He has played well whenever he has been able to get on the court, with averages of 25.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game. The Mavericks would be hoping that he can stay healthy during the business end of the season, as that is when they would need him the most.
After Irving and the Mavericks crashed and burned last season, they look set to return to the playoffs in 2024, but questions remain on just how far this group can go. Dallas has one of the best backcourts in the league with Irving and Doncic, and some good pieces like Lively, Grant Williams, and Tim Hardaway Jr., but they don’t look like a title contender at present. Some moves before the February 8 trade deadline might change that, though.
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