Has Donovan Mitchell surpassed Kyrie Irving's Cavaliers legacy?
By Roger Straz
The Case for Kyrie Irving
The case for Kyrie Irving is pretty simple - postseason greatness. As tremendous as Spida has been in the playoffs over his career, his resume does not stack up to Kyrie on the Cavaliers. Mitchell has averaged 27.8 points, five assists and five rebounds in the playoffs but has not gotten out of the second round. Kyrie, on the other hand, would step up his game as he has averaged 23.9 points, 4.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds in his three playoff appearances for the Cavaliers.
In all three of Kyrie's playoff runs in Cleveland, the Cavs went to the NBA Finals. Right now, Donovan has a chance to make some waves this upcoming postseason, but his only postseason trip with the Cavs ended in an embarrassing five-game series loss with homecourt advantage.
The fact is, Kyrie was pivotal in the Cavalier's NBA Finals win in 2015/16.
Irving's last-minute three is quite possibly the most famous shot in Cleveland Cavaliers' basketball history. It is always replayed whenever the NBA Finals comes around as it put the Cavaliers ahead in Game 7 in Oracle Arena over future Hall of Famer Steph Curry and the 73-9 Golden State Warriors. Both Irving's and LeBron's spectacular performances cemented the team's now-iconic black jerseys with a script "C" on the chest.
Donovan Mitchell has been an excellent regular season player who has led the Cavaliers as the number-one option. This year Spida and the Cavaliers are hoping to create more playoff history for the franchise. Unfortunately, Mitchell cannot stack up his accomplishments to what Kyrie and the Cavs have done right now, but his individual greatness may quickly surpass Irving. All of Irving's best accolades have come as the second-best contributor, whether it is behind LeBron James or Kevin Durant.
Irving might have left Cleveland early, but he left the city after giving some great playoff performances and a ring. In the end, Irving's accolades still outweigh Mitchell's, considering the impact of the 2016 Finals. Mitchell has not even finished his second season with Cleveland, though, and may very well be on track to dethrone Irving if he stays with the Cavaliers for the long term.