Ranking all active No. 1 picks in the NBA, from worst to best
By Evan Kelly
6) Kyrie Irving
Health has become a recurring issue for Irving for a number of seasons now, but there is no denying his incredible talent on the court. In his first full season with the Mavericks, Irving is averaging 25.2 ppg, slightly above his career average, while still operating with outstanding efficiency. For the season, Irving sits at 47.2%/41,1%/89.5%, incredible numbers for a player his size.
In terms of entertainment factor, there are very few players capable of putting on a show the way Irving can. There is a case to be made that he is the single best ball handler and undersized finisher the game has ever seen. When healthy he is still among the best point guards and pure scorers in the league.
However as previously mentioned, counting on Kyrie to stay healthy has become far from a guarantee. Since the end of the 2018-19 season, he has hit the 60 game mark just one time. This means that under the league's new 65 game minimum, he would not have been eligible for any postseason awards in each of the last 5 seasons, including this one where he has already missed 20+ games. Kyrie is a brilliant individual player, but his inability to stay healthy prevents him from ranking higher on this list.