LeBron: Kyrie Irving “Can Be The Pest Point Guard In the League Very Soon”

LeBron James’ affection for Northeast Ohio knows no bounds, but he surely would not have returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers if he didn’t believe his hometown team could immediately compete for a championship with him in tow. So it’s not surprising that James would hold Cavs cornerstone Kyrie Irving in extremely high-esteem. At the release of his new signature sneaker yesterday, though, The King lavished praise on his point guard that is sure to ruffle feathers of fans around the league.

Via Sports Illustrated’s Ben Golliver, it seems LeBron wouldn’t be surprised if the 22 year-old Irving soon usurps more established stars to become top player at his position.

“I believe Kyrie can be the best point guard in the league very soon…,” James said.

The qualifiers are important here; “believe,” “can,” and “soon” are hardly a guarantee or even prediction. But James’ contention is still worthy of scrutiny, which serves as a necessary reminder of the struggles Irving experienced in his third season last year.

Plagued by a series of minor health maladies and feeling the emotional ill-effects of completely dysfunctional Cleveland team, Irving played the worst basketball of his career in 2013-2014. Though his counting statistics of 20.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 6.1 assists were exceptional, Irving’s efficiency fell below his previous standards – let alone those many assumed he’d reach in his third professional campaign.

Kyrie notched career-worsts in points, rebounds, and assists per-36 minutes last season while also establishing new lows in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and PER. He subsisted on long two-point jumpers more than ever before, and the defensive issues that were commonplace his first two years in the league were only exacerbated. By any objective measure, Irving took a step back in 2013-2014 when he was expected to make a big leap forward.

That’s what casts doubt on LeBron’s belief that the FIBA World Cup MVP will soon sit atop the point guard perch. Irving’s fantastic performance for Team USA this summer somewhat eases concerns gleaned from his disappointing NBA season, but we’ve seen a similar movie before – it just was just over a year ago that Kyrie established himself as a fixture of the national program at USA Basketball mini-camp.

Look, we’re hardly down on Irving. James’ belief that a FIBA and All-Star Game MVP with Kyrie’s supreme offensive gifts could eventually become the NBA’s best point guard isn’t incendiary – it just ignores the most recent and important evidence at hand. There’s also this to consider: Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and Steph Curry are still around, while Derrick Rose, John Wall, and Damian Lillard loom. No position is more loaded than point guard.

Irving is certainly talented enough to someday lead the pack. But he needs to perform at a much higher level in 2014-2015 than he did last season for that hope to become something close to expectation.

*Statistical support for this post via basketball-reference.com

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