Kyrie Irving Shows Growth In FIBA Finale
By Joshua Howe
In a tournament that was largely supposed to be about the strong play of Anthony Davis and the hustle of Kenneth Faried for Team USA, Kyrie Irving had himself a solid outing. He stood out by putting up 12.1 points, 3.6 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game over the course of nine games. He also shot an incredible 56.2 percent from the field, 60.9 percent from downtown and 83.3 percent from the free throw line.
There were moments, flashes, when he looked really good. Other times, he sort of faded back into the white, red and blue of the USA jerseys. And there was even a moment of terror for Cleveland Cavaliers fans, when he took a nasty spill against Ukraine.
Yes, this tournament held it all for Irving. But more important than anything else, it held a special moment for him that should boost his confidence and morale, and have him ready to start the new NBA season with LeBron James and Kevin Love on a high note.
That moment came in the finale of the FIBA World Cup, where the USA matched up against Serbia for gold. After a slow start to the game which included a foul-plagued Davis, Kyrie gave his squad a much needed boost, going on a shooting tear that left the Serbians’ heads’ spinning.
By halftime, he had exploded for 18 points and two assists on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 4-for-4 from deep. Suddenly, this was Uncle Drew’s game. Kyrie’s world. When it came time for the USA to break out (while Davis dealt with foul trouble), it was Irving who answered the call.
His exploits in the game (and throughout the entire tourney) earned him the FIBA Basketball World Cup MVP after finishing with a strong stat line of 26 points, four dimes and one block on 10-of-13 shooting and 6-of-6 from beyond the arc.
It’s something as (relatively) small as this that can help Kyrie grow as a player. He finally got to taste winning, for one thing. He hasn’t had much of that with the Cavs over his three seasons with the franchise. And once a very good player has won something, they most often find more ways to come out with wins (think LeBron after his first title) in the future.
He also worked on his leadership skills with Team USA, showing them off most noticeably when he took over the game against Serbia. He knew exactly when to attack and once he felt himself heating up, he began snapping the mesh on almost every possession for about a three minute period, pushing USA into the big run that ultimately won them the game.
For a guy that’s only 22 years old, this has to be Kyrie’s biggest basketball moment thus far (yes, more important than the All-Star MVP). He was able to bring home gold for his country and do so in dramatic fashion. The journey was long and while the club sometimes looked disjointed and out of whack, they still managed to roll over every team they played, with Kyrie at the helm.
So say what you will about his defense, say what you will about the Cavaliers, but one thing is set in stone. Kyrie Irving is the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup MVP and come October, he’ll be hungry for more.