Boston Celtics: Top 10 moments from 2017-18 NBA season

10. Kyrie puts on a show in Dallas

By the end of November, Kyrie Irving was looking like a legitimate MVP candidate, as he’d helped the Celtics rattle off 15 straight victories after Gordon Hayward was declared out for the year.

With that praise came a reality check. Many were quick to point out an actual decrease in Irving’s numbers from the year prior, as well as an elite Celtics defense that played a huge part of Boston’s early-season success in spite of Kyrie.

Basically, people were trying to slow down Irving’s hype train, as the Celtics’ success was looked at as more of a team effort than any single individual, despite the five-time All-Star’s greatness.

So when the Celtics headed down to Texas to face off against the Dallas Mavericks, Irving was looking to demonstrate his worth to his new team and the entire NBA.

Irving would go on to hit 16-of-22 shots in an overtime victory over the Mavericks, finishing with a season-high 47 points, including 10 in the extra session to go along with six assists, dazzling the fans in attendance with his ball-handling and finishing ability, garnering MVP chants in the process.

Oh, and he did it all while wearing a mask.

With all the success that Boston has had without Irving on the court, many have come to question his value to the team.

While that may be a debate worth having for some, there’s no debate that Irving has proven capable of big-time performances, ones that have him carrying his team to a victory almost singlehandedly on the offense end.