Kyrie Irving should be taken seriously as an MVP candidate

The two most talked about NBA topics seem to be who will win the title, and who will win the MVP. LeBron James, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant are perpetually part of that conversation. This year, we’ve seen Giannis Antetokounmpo vault himself into that category as well. But there’s a dark horse candidate we should all be keeping our eyes on. Kyrie Irving hasn’t set the league on fire yet this season, but a leap is coming.

Irving’s MVP odds are currently set at plus +1400 according to USA Today via Bovado. Through 15 games, he’s led the Boston Celtics to a 13-2 record winning 13 straight in that time.

The season began as horribly as any team could have imagined with Gordon Hayward succumbing to a potentially season ending ankle injury. Kyrie threw that pass. Since the opening night loss, and the Bucks loss the next night, the Celtics have rattled off 12 straight.

What Irving has done is nothing short of incredible. No, he isn’t leading the league in points, or assists, but he is doing what a lot of people questioned whether he had the brass to do in the first place: lead. He’s taken a group of players that include a pair #3 overall picks in the two most recent drafts to a 12-2 record and sit atop the East. He isn’t doing this by pounding the rock and looking for the best shot for himself either.

From the moment Irving became a Celtic, he has bought into the Brad Stevens offense, and defense. For a player that’s as maligned as he is defensively, the Celtics have held opponents to an offensive rating of just 99.5 when he’s on the floor according to basketball reference. The NBA world hasn’t seen Irving this locked in defensively since he entered the league. And it’s showing. He currently leads his team with 1.9 steals per game according to basketball reference.

Offensively, he’s worked a nice two-man game with Al Horford. In the 310 minutes the two have shared the floor, they’re plus 15.6 points per 100 possessions per basketball reference. After playing for coaches like David Blatt, Ty Lue, and Mike Brown, Irving is finally playing for a coach with a real system.

The knock on Kyrie coming into this season was that he didn’t do anything when LeBron wasn’t on the court for the Cavs last season. I’d argue that’s to be expected. The Cavaliers are a team built around LeBron to succeed. They weren’t ever built around Kyrie. It’s hard for anyone to succeed with a roster that isn’t built for them.

The Celtics didn’t build this roster around Kyrie, that’s true. But they have players that can play multiple positions and do a little bit of everything. Even Jayson Tatum looks unstoppable in this system. Irving is making a concerted effort to get everyone involved. His breakout, statement game is coming.

He has yet to unleash his full complement of offensive talent on any opponent this year, but I don’t expect that to last long. I’d be looking for the Warriors game on Thursday on prime-time as his breakout game of the season. After hitting the Game 7 winner in the NBA Finals, he’s completely fearless when playing the Warriors. Irving is literally un-guardable when he wants to be, or when he needs to be.

Currently, he’s only averaging 20.3 points per game. I fully expect that number to rise. We’re still dealing with small sample sizes. The more comfortable he gets with Stevens and his teammates the better he will be.

Kyrie has rid him self of LeBron’s shackles, and acclimated himself to a great coach in an organization with a great culture. I’d buy low on this Irving as an MVP stock. He has a case already, and we’ve seen in years past, we know early on who the candidates will be. Some will fall off, some will rise. I’m thinking Kyrie’s rises.