Hoops Habit
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NBA History: 25 best sidekicks of all time

By Hans Themistode

LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: Kobe Bryant (L), Shaquille O'Neal (C) and Brian Shaw (R) of the Los Angeles Lakers joke on the bench during the final minutes in game four of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs 27 May 2001 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The Lakers beat the Spurs 111-82 to sweep the best-of-seven series 4-0. AFP PHOTO/Mike NELSON (Photo credit should read MIKE NELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: Kobe Bryant (L), Shaquille O'Neal (C) and Brian Shaw (R) of the Los Angeles Lakers joke on the bench during the final minutes in game four of the Western Conference Finals against the San Antonio Spurs 27 May 2001 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The Lakers beat the Spurs 111-82 to sweep the best-of-seven series 4-0. AFP PHOTO/Mike NELSON (Photo credit should read MIKE NELSON/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Ranking the 25 best NBA sidekicks of all time: 18. Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving has had a number of Pit Stops during his career. All along, he’s either been the best player or he’s been forced to settle for third best. During his early days in Cleveland, Kyrie was the number one option. During his two years in Boston, despite having a young Jayson Tatum there, Irving was clearly the better player.

Even now, as Irving is a member of the Brooklyn Nets, he isn’t the best or second-best player, as he’s firmly behind both James Harden and Kevin Durant. But, during a three stretch in Cleveland, Irving was the second option.

After LeBron James left the sunny skies of Miami and headed home to Cleveland, Irving reluctantly accepted his role as second banana. He may have wanted to be the one to lead the Cavaliers to the promised land but after three years of finishing amongst the league’s worst, that simply wasn’t in the cards.

For as much as Irving hated playing second fiddle, he excelled. He was named to two All-Star Games in those three seasons and one All-NBA team. Even with James and Kevin Love demanding the ball, Irving’s point per game average got up as high as 25.2 during the 2016-17 season.

Overall, Irving was terrific. During the 2016 NBA Finals, in particular, he was unstoppable. He essentially destroyed the Golden State Warriors as he averaged 27.1 points per game and hit one of the most clutch shots in Finals history to seal the deal. Irving was great but James clearly overshadowed him by averaging 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals, and 2.3 blocks during those Finals. There was simply no way Irving could ever steal the number one spot from James.