In Sunday's season finale, when the Brooklyn Nets secured the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 123-109 win over Cleveland, Kyrie Irving was incredibly efficient, shooting 80 percent from the field, 50 percent from three, and 100 percent from the free throw line.
That performance solidified his place in the exclusive "50/40/90" club: shooting 50 percent or greater from the field, 40 percent or better from three-point range, and at least 90 percent on free throws in a single season. Kyrie also averaged 26.9 points per game this year, making him just the fourth player to go 50/40/90 while averaging 25 or more – and he finds himself in the company of giants named Larry Bird, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant, three of the top 20 players in NBA history.
"Phenomenal season from Ky," Durant said after Sunday's game. "A guy who can get it from anywhere on the floor at any time at that size is remarkable. Point guards that get 50/40/90 is just so much more impressive to me. I'm very happy for Kyrie, and I'm sure this won't be his last time."
Unfortunately, Irving did not speak to reporters after the game, but his game certainly did, and it always has.
At just 24 years old, Kyrie was the second-best player on the Cavs, a team that beat the 73-9 Warriors – the best regular-season team in history – to win the 2016 NBA Finals. He is one of five players in NBA history to have multiple 40-point games in an NBA Finals at the age of 25 or younger, joining Rick Barry, George Mikan, Dwyane Wade, and Jerry West (the logo). And, he had seven All-Star selections to his name by the time he was just 28 years old, as many as first ballot Hall of Famers Scottie Pippen and Tracy McGrady had for their entire careers.
It's safe to say that Kyrie Irving is on track to be a no-brainer first ballot Hall of Famer. He has played in three NBA Finals and his Game 7-winning three-point shot over Steph Curry was one of the most clutch shots in NBA Finals history, finishing a series where he completely outplayed the two-time MVP. He is one of the Top 10 talents in the world and may be Top 5 when it comes to must watch players, and with all the accomplishments that Irving has had, his best overall season came THIS season. The greatness of Irving can't be underestimated, and it certainly isn't lost on his teammates.
Now, going into the 2021 playoffs, every team aside from the Nets has a big problem to adjust to quickly: Kyrie is the THIRD best player in Brooklyn's lineup – and if you look at the other top teams this season, there is no comparing Irving to the other team's third best players. Tobias Harris, the third best player for the 76ers, has yet to make an All-Star team; the Jazz, who had the NBA's best record, have Mike Conley Jr., who has never been on an All-NBA Team (an accomplishment Kyrie had at age 23); and the Suns' No. 3, DeAndre Ayton, is just 22 but hasn't come close to what Kyrie did even by age 22, when he was the All-Star Game MVP.
The Nets' level of talent is unlike anything the league has ever seen. The fact that their third-best player would be the top option on a good amount of playoff teams is a bad sign for the rest of the league. The biggest fear in these NBA playoffs is a healthy Nets team, because health may be the only thing standing in the way of a championship.
When a team's third-best player is Kyrie Irving in his prime, the saying "it's a wrap" instantly comes to mind, because if the Nets stay healthy, the NBA might as well fast forward to post-production.
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