Sunday Read: Kyrie The Maverick
A deep dive into the comfort, connections and productivity that Kyrie Irving has thus far found in Dallas
Kyrie Irving and Jason Kidd have more in common than their current and past statuses as franchise cornerstone guard. They even share a birthday.
On Saturday, Irving turned 32 and Kidd turned 51. Yet what made the occasion so joyous for the Dallas Mavericks, after back-and-forth jokes all week between player and coach that Irving might actually be the older celebrant, was the relative calm and optimism that are tangible within the franchise. Especially compared to how things were a year ago.
The first birthday they spent together as co-workers was far less festive. Last season, with Irving just six weeks into his Mavericks career and Kidd turning 50, Dallas' season disastrously collapsed soon after their co-milestones on March 23, 2023. Consecutive losses to the going-nowhere Charlotte Hornets, first at home and then on the road, sent the Mavericks skidding to a lowly 38-44 and 11th place in the West, with Irving and Luka Dončić ultimately mustering only five wins in the 16 games in which they both suited up.
Fast forward to March 2024 and Irving is flourishing alongside Dončić. Make that flourishing to the point that Irving's still-hard-to-believe lefty fling at the buzzer one week ago to beat the Denver Nuggets had the Monday Morning debate shows openly pondering the possibility that the Mavericks, rather than the defending champions, boast the most flammable duo in the league.
It was a moment that only strengthened a burgeoning bond with Irving's new home fan base that few were forecasting after all the turmoil, much of it self-sparked, that marked his 3 1/2 seasons as a Brooklyn Net.
"Since that game-winner, man, I can feel the pulse in here," Irving said Thursday night after the Mavericks threw down a franchise-record 18 dunks in a runway win over the Utah Jazz at the American Airlines Center.
"It feels like it's special here."
There was no shortage of skeptics (yours truly at the front of the line) when the Mavericks responded to last season's pratfall by signing Irving to a three-year, $120 million contract in July despite the apparent absence of competing bidders ... with Irving also handed the considerable leverage of a player option in Year 3.
Challenges to assemble a sustainable defense around their two All-Star guards persist, but there is likewise no denying that Kyrie The Maverick has forged strong partnerships with both Dončić and Kidd. They are Irving's strongest relationships with a fellow superstar and coach in nearly a decade, dating to his championship days in Cleveland alongside LeBron James and Tyronn Lue.
Entering a hugely significant five-game road trip in the Mavericks' quest to secure a top-six seed in the highly competitive Western Conference, what follows is a wide-ranging and detailed examination of the various factors that had Irving gushing about life in North Texas in that same Thursday night interview.