Cleveland Cavaliers: Top 10 NBA Draft picks in franchise history
By Frank Urbina
2. Kyrie Irving (PG) — No. 1 pick in 2011 NBA Draft
Career stats (with the Cavaliers): 381 GP, 21.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.3 STL, 0.3 BLK, 2.7 TOV, 45.7 FG%, 38.3 3P%, 87.3 FT%
The night was June 17, 2016, and it was Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
After battling back from a 3-1 series deficit, Cleveland had a chance to snatch a Larry O’Brien trophy from the grips of the Golden State Warriors. With just over a minute left in the hard-fought contest, the Cavs had possession of the ball with the score deadlocked at 89 points apiece.
Kyrie Irving, as had been the case so many times prior to that night, had the rock in his hands, waiting on the right opportunity to go for the kill.
Needless to say, he delivered.
Dribble, dribble, step-back three…nothing but net. The Warriors wouldn’t score again; the Cavaliers were NBA champions.
Look, I know Irving may have some flaws. He’s not a great defender, he probably doesn’t distribute enough to be a true floor general and his jump shot can be a bit streaky.
But none of that matters. He’s a winner, unafraid of the big moment and was the second-most important piece on a title-winning team…in Cleveland.
Even if Irving were to do nothing else for the entirety of his time in Northeast Ohio, he would still maintain his spot as the Cavaliers’ second best draft pick ever, for at least the foreseeable future. And considering he’s just 25 years old, we may have a few more career-defining moments from the Australian-born point guard yet to come.