Talent Over Exposure
There are certain questions with simple answers. Australia or Oakland? Duke or Weber State? Number 1 or number 6 overall? 4th rated player in the country or a 2-star guard out of high school? These are all questions in which, other than the lifelong Ogden resident or some guy with an obsession with the number 6, could be answered with ease.
If the answers to these questions were all that we looked at when finding out who a better basketball player was, then a couple things would happen. First off, Kyrie Irving would be the clear-cut answer over Damian Lillard. Secondly, we would be dead wrong. As far as exposure goes, Kyrie Irving has gotten far more of it than Lillard. He’s the only star on his team (pre-July 2014), comes from one of the best college basketball programs in the nation, was the number one overall pick, and has better handles than you could find at any one of the 10 billion luxury bike shops in Portland, Oregon.
Irving is one of the best PGs in the NBA (top 8) in a league with a good amount of quality 1s; and with that added positive exposure, it seems as if he’s a lock to make team USA without any real debate. I will never deny his talent as I’ve always been a fan of his, but to so quickly choose him over Damian Lillard would be a mistake that it looks as if coach K is about ready to make.
Out of every podcast and radio show I’ve listened to in the last month or so (about 10 times what a healthy human should), no one outside of Bill Simmons has even mentioned the fact that Lillard over Irving should at least be a discussion. The problem with me suggesting it is that every time I do, my friends/random douchebags I meet at the bar are quick to point out that I’m just biased because I’m a Portland Trail Blazers fan, and then their ears turn off (or they pass out after their 12th beer). Maybe my voice is annoying, or maybe my opinion on the Lillard vs. Irving battle isn’t something that a 60-year old hippie wants to listen to at the pool table. I must admit, I am a huge Damian Lillard believer and very much a Portland Trail Blazers fan, but I then must also admit that Kyrie Irving is a great player and I pride myself on presenting sports debates with as little bias as possible. There is tangible and non-tangible evidence to prove that Damian Lillard is not only better suited to play on the USMNT, but also the better overall basketball player than the highly touted Kyrie Irving.
Statistical Comparisons are always a good place to start when trying to determine a superior player. They are far from the only argument in such debates, but they do tend to hold a lot of weight, so lets see how they stack up. Damian Lillard has averaged 20 PPG 6 APG 3.3 RPG and about 1 SPG while shooting 48 % from the field and 38 % from long range so far in his short career (although he is coming off a 39.5 % long range shooting performance this past season). This season was Lillards first playoff appearance where he averaged 23 PPG 6.5 APG 5 RPG and 1 SPG while shooting 44 % from the field and 39 % from long range. Now lets look at Irving. Uncle Drew has managed 21 PPG 6 APG 3.7 RPG and 1.4 SPG while shooting 45 % from the field and 38 % from long range. Irving has never made the playoffs, so there are no playoff statistics to compare, I simply put Lillards in there to show that when it mattered most, he played even better. Irvings game may elevate in the playoffs as well, we will most likely get to find out in this upcoming seasons playoffs. As far as statistics go, it looks like the two are quite even with Irving possibly having a sliver of an advantage with his slightly higher rebound and steal averages, but these advantages are marginal at best.
As any knowledgeable basketball fan knows, basic statistics should be looked at like the tip of an iceberg, meaning, there is usually a whole lot more to your effectiveness than simple statistics, if statistics were all that mattered then Wilt Chamberlain would be the best basketball player ever, and it wouldn’t be close. This means that looking at career statistics can’t solve the Irving vs. Lillard battle; we must dig deeper. In two seasons, Lillard has played in 175/175 games including playoffs, for those who skipped out on math class in grade school, that’s 100 %. Kyrie, in THREE seasons has played in 181/246 games, that’s 74 %. To make it even simpler, Lillard has only played in 6 fewer games in two seasons than Irving has managed in 3. “Well, that is only one thing he excels in, Irving is a way better ball handler”, says the d-bag at the bar, but that isn’t the only area where Lillard is more reliable, far from it actually. Lillard increased his statistics in almost every category this season, and while Irving actually played his most complete season (71 games), his stats basically stayed the same or digressed across the board. D-Lill has shown to be clutch in big games while Irving hasn’t even played in a big game since high school, that’s right, high school. So while Irving has the very slight statistical advantage, it would appear that Damian Lillard easily takes the crown when it comes to reliability and consistency.
When it comes to the intangibles, things like locker room presence, leadership, poise etc. both players seem to have what it takes. There have been some rumors of Irving and Waiters not getting along, but they have never really been proven or broken down; most likely media creating a story. When it comes to Lillard, he has always shown an extreme amount of poise no matter what the circumstance, and the rare ability to shake off bad starts to games. Irving has also shown to be clutch at times and doesn’t seem to get flustered often, we just haven’t seen him on a big enough stage yet to know if that will hold up, but once again, that problem should be solved this upcoming season.
While the discussion of Lillard or Irving hasn’t really gained any speed throughout the USMNT training camps, it would seem that it should. The two players are damn near identical in statistical efforts, but Lillard seems to be a much more reliable and consistent player even though the sample size is quite small for the both of them. In the end, I believe Kyrie is going to get the nod over Lillard (if they don’t decide to keep 4 PGs), and the media may talk about the decision a little more when that actually happens; especially if Kyrie doesn’t have a great tournament. For the record, I wouldn’t complain about having either one of these great young players on my team, but if one had to choose, it looks to me as if Lillard should have the slight advantage over the more recognizable Irving. With a little luck coach K will at least acknowledge that the gap isn’t so big between the two, and maybe, just maybe, we can start to focus on talent over exposure.
