Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have a case to be regarded as the best duo in the NBA, but Paul Pierce believes they are worthy of far greater praise.
On Undisputed, Pierce claimed Doncic and Irving are the best offensive duo in NBA history.
“I said this a month ago on this show, this is the best offensive duo–not backcourt–offensive duo in NBA history,” Pierce said. “When we talk about the skill set of Kyrie, we already know. I’ve heard a number of NBA players say he’s the most skilled player we’ve ever seen. Luka, he just led the league in scoring. You’ve got two guys capable of really going off for 60 points… I truly believe this is the best scoring duo that’s ever been assembled.”
Pierce shared that Irving and Doncic have averaged 57.4 points per game combined when they’ve played together this season. Only James Harden and Russell Westbrook in 2019 (60.7 points per game) had a higher scoring average than them in a single campaign.
While that is impressive, I think Pierce jumped the gun a bit there. As great as Doncic and Irving are, I don’t believe they belong at the top. I would have Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant-Stephen Curry ahead of them, for sure.
For starters, those duos actually won multiple titles together, which I believe should count for something. Also, Kyrie, for me, isn’t as consistent a scorer as the other four, which brings him and Doncic down a notch. I think a case can also be made for LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to be ahead of them as well.
If Doncic and Irving end up winning titles together, then they will have an argument to be at the top. They have a real chance at winning one this year too, after leading the Dallas Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals. They have proven a lot of their doubters wrong in the process, and funnily enough, Pierce used to be one of them.
As the Mavericks were struggling at the end of last season, Pierce claimed Doncic and Irving couldn’t work together. He added, though, that maybe they just needed some more time, which has proven to be the case.
The two of them led the Mavericks to a 50-32 record this season, which was good enough to finish as the fifth seed in the Western Conference. Doncic put up impressive averages of 33.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, 9.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game along the way. Irving, meanwhile, averaged 25.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game.