Donovan Mitchell vs Kyrie Irving

[durantbird]

Best scorers for franchise thread got me thinking on this comparison. With Cavs' start this season seems like Mitchell is the better alpha, but what do you think? Who is better as first option, as second option and overall?

[Pelly24]

I think in a vacuum they are around the same level right now and in the past. Both have had playoff blunders, but both have had incredible moments too.

This Cavs team is ridiculously well built. If we're talking peak, I think 2019 Kyrie would actually do even better than D Mitch in this setup. Better playmaker, better defender and actually still a better scorer, needs the ball even less than D Mitch. People forget how great Kyrie can be in that role because of how poor he was against the Bucks that year. But I think D Mitchell actually peaked a couple years ago when he had a 6 bpm. Kyrie peaked at like a 7 bpm. But some of that depends on team circumstance. i

But I have them in that same kinda range. All-NBA 2nd team guys with enough micro skills to do well when they aren't hitting a lot of shots.

[mattg]

This comparison seems to me like one that mostly comes down play style preference and surrounding roster consideration. Kyrie and Mitchell are very close, so some people may prefer how one plays vs the other. Additionally, if they are the 2nd option on a team I think it definitely matters who the first guy is, you could argue Kyrie is a better fit with another ball dominant wing, especially if they aren't an elite shooter.

I do think it's interesting that if you posed this question to NBA players, probably 80%+ would pick Kyrie without hesitation. It would be even more interesting to ask them this question if Cleveland wins a title this season.

[Pelly24]

*Noted Kyrie fan Speaking* another thing about Kyrie is that he's quietly one of the few most scalable players of all time. His offensive EPM or whatever stat it was has been like in the 90th percentile or above the last like, 8 years. It feels like most good, even great players need to be n a system for a while to maximize their abilities. But Kyrie has essentially been a guaranteed 25/5/5 on 50/40/90 + 3 TS% with low turnovers his whole prime. That's across countless teammates and coaches, too. He's in year 14 now. I actually think, especially with another couple deep playoff runs, history will remember him better than the contemporary he has. Very rare to see a guard 6'2" and under with this extended a prime in so many roles with so much baggage.

I think it's arguable D Mitch peaked a little higher (not much. he peaked at like top 10, 11 player, i think kyrie peaks at top 12 or 13). But will be interesting to see where D Mitch finishes