Five years ago, Kyrie Irving and Isaiah
Thomas were selected in the NBA Draft as the first and final picks; on
Thursday evening, they stood as equals for their respective teams. While
the former first overall pick Irving’s Cleveland Cavaliers edged out
Thomas’ Boston Celtics 124-118 on Thursday, Thomas showed again that his
draft slot means nothing.Thomas scored 31 points and dished out nine assists; Irving countered with 32 points and 12 assists as teammates LeBron James and Kevin Love also recorded double-doubles. For the season, Thomas’ 26.9 points and 6.7 assists entering play on Friday are actually better than Irving’s 23.9 points and 6.0 assists. The difference in those totals, however, is that Thomas doesn’t play with James, who takes a lot of the scoring and passing burden off Irving.
In general, the Celtics and their 20-14 record - third-best in the eastern conference – are still a work in progress. Budding superstars such as Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley, and Marcus Smart give Thomas a solid core for the future but championship aspirations will have to go through Cleveland.
COMPARISON
When comparing Irving and Thomas, it's clear that nobody expected Thomas to leave tumultuous circumstances with the Sacramento Kings (the team that drafted him) and the Phoenix Suns (the team that barely played him) and evolve into an NBA All-Star. Irving, however, as the first overall pick out of Duke University was expected to be a superstar and he hasn’t failed those expectations.
Irving is three years younger than Thomas, who spent three seasons at the University of Washington before making the jump. Both players have six NBA seasons under their belt and both have enjoyed their share of success – but Irving entered the league as a superstar and his resume reflects that.
Irving (21 points, 5.5 assists): NBA Champion (Cavaliers, 2016), Three-time All-Star (2013-15), Rookie of the Year (2012), All-NBA Third Team (2015)
Thomas (17.8 points, 5.1 assists): All-Star (2016), NBA All-Rookie Second Team (2012)
Irving has never averaged less than 18.5 points in any given season and while injuries have limited him to 59 games or fewer in three of his first five seasons, his innate scoring ability has shined.
But Thomas has the same ability; he showed that on Friday in a 117-114 win over the Miami Heat as he scored a career-high 52 points with no assists. He can create shots and score near the basket, evidenced by his streak of 18 consecutive games with at least 20 points, the longest active streak in the NBA.
However, Irving's explosiveness and ball handling, a byproduct of his size advantage is something even Thomas acknowledged in a Players' Tribune piece last year.
"He’s kind of like Jamal Crawford in that you never really know what he’s gonna pull out," Thomas wrote."But when it comes to being in isolation, if you’re guarding him, you can count on seeing that crossover more than a few times. It’s his bread and butter."
What We Learned
Coming out of Thursday’s matchup -- and Friday's career performance it’s clear that despite Thomas' undersized 5-foot-9 frame, he has combined his scoring and passing skills into a lethal skill set. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Thomas has scored 234 points and dished 54 assists in eight games this month since returning from injury. The last player in Celtics history to post those type of numbers over an eight-game stretch was Larry Bird in 1989-90 season.
In no particular order, Thomas, Irving, John Wall, and Kemba Walker are considered the class of point guards in the eastern conference. Before Thomas’ emergence last season, his name would have been nowhere near that group. Now, he’s having a season that compares to or exceeds all of them.
Thomas: 26.9 points, 6.7 assists
Irving: 23.9 points, 6.0 assists
Wall: 23.7 points, 9.9 assists
Walker: 22.3 points, 5.4 assists
Not bad for the final pick of an NBA Draft from five seasons ago.
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