This season, Kyrie Irving will celebrate 15 years in the NBA. He entered the league in 2011 as the first overall pick selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he won a championship in 2016 alongside LeBron James. That extensive experience has given the guard enough perspective to evaluate his career and identify a player who was crucial in shaping his path.
During a recent live stream, Irving was highly complimentary of John Wall. “Let me give John his flowers,” the Dallas Mavericks star said. “He definitely set a precedent, set the example a year before of being a No. 1 pick, being a point guard, being everything that you could want, and being an exciting guard in the NBA.”
Indeed, Wall entered the league in 2010 as the first overall pick of the draft, chosen by the Washington Wizards. Just one year later, Kyrie followed the same path with Cleveland, which meant both players’ careers ran in parallel for years in the NBA.
“You gotta think, both of us came on to the scene later on in the rankings. And for us to go back-to-back as point guards in the NBA? That was generational. I don’t think it’ll ever be a run like that again of two point guards going back-to-back No. 1 picks in the best league in the world,” the 2012 Rookie of the Year reflected.
John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards talks with Kyrie Irving #2 of the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 25, 2017
“So many great matchups against him. So many great moments of just us being ultra competitive because we knew our towns, the hood back at home was talking like, who is better between us two,” Irving recalled.
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While Wall stayed in Washington from 2010 to 2020, Irving played with the Cavaliers until 2017 and then had shorter stints with the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets. For nearly a decade, they were direct rivals in the Eastern Conference, though they never met in the playoffs.
Still, those battles meant a lot to Kyrie, who now reflects on those moments as crucial for his development as an elite player. “It made me who I am today. It helped shape my competitive drive,” said the 33-year-old guard. “So, I definitely gotta give him his flowers, man.”
After those years of rivalry with Irving, Wall suffered a series of injuries that affected his career and stalled his hopes of establishing himself as a dominant NBA player. After leaving Washington in 2020, John joined the Houston Rockets, where he played just 40 games in the 2020-21 season. Following a brief stint with the Los Angeles Clippers, the guard has been out of NBA action for over two years.
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