Stars to Superstars: The transformations of Kyrie Irving and Kristaps Porzingis
Kyrie Irving and Kristaps Porzingis were undoubtedly stars at basketball’s highest level. However, they’ve now entered the NBA’s superstar tier this season
For a few seasons, Uncle Drew and the Unicorn, two young players with sky-high potential, served as the sidekicks to LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony respectively.
Uncle Drew had great success, most notably drilling the 3-pointer to seal the 2015-16 NBA Finals. The Unicorn has yet to gallop in the postseason. Then, this past offseason, Kyrie Irving and Kristaps Porzingis finally got their own teams.
Irving made his desire to leave the King’s side and was sent to Boston in a mega-deal that sent Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, a first-round draft pick and more back the other way.
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The Unicorn was fortunate enough to stay in the only stable he’s ever known, New York, while Carmelo Anthony was shipped off to Oklahoma City to chase a ring with Russell Westbrook and Paul George.
Irving was supposed to team up with all-stars in Gordon Hayward and Al Horford, as well as rookie phenom Jayson Tatum, to form one of the NBA’s best “super teams.” However, Hayward destroyed his ankle minutes into his debut, as the world watched the team’s title hopes leave on the stretcher with the ex-Jazz forward. Or so we thought.
Despite Hayward’s injury, the Celtics have launched out to a 21-4 start, good for the best record in the Association. Largely on the back of Irving’s 23.2 ppg and 5.2 apg, the Mean Green Machine’s title hopes are alive and well. However, King James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are 11-1 since James voiced displeasure on social media earlier in the season, sitting in third in the Eastern Conference at 17-7. Thanks to Horford, Tatum and a surging Jaylen Brown, this team is here to stay.
Back in the Big Apple, Porzingis has thrived without Carmelo Anthony, scoring 25.8 ppg, easily a career high and good for fifth-most in the league. The Knicks somehow sit at 11-12, ninth in the Eastern Conference, after being a total afterthought and possible destination for a top draft pick this coming summer.
Though Porzingis has scored quite efficiently, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Enes Kanter also make nice dents in the box score, so he’s not alone whatsoever. However, the Latvian forward adds 6.8 boards and 2.1 blocks per contest as well, making his complete skillset the force to reckon with at Madison Square Garden.
Irving and Porzingis have shown their talents throughout their short careers but never had the opportunity to grab the reigns of their respective teams. Now, Irving wears green and Anthony wears a lighter shade of blue, opening the door for Porzingis to take over.
These two talents were regarded as some of the best young players in the league but with proven superstars running the floor with them, the spotlight was not on them. Irving obviously had his moments in Cleveland but Porzingis hasn’t been the man until now, with Anthony out of the picture.
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Thus far, the two have proven that the spotlight is not too much and are thriving. With their talents and now their proven abilities to take over a game when called upon, it’s time to look at Irving and Porzingis differently than past years. They’re not just stars anymore. They’ve transformed into superstars who are the future of the league.