Over the past few days, Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving has become a hot topic for his performance in the playoffs. Since he has been on the court this season with the Mavericks, the team has recorded a win-loss record of 50-32. Not only this, but his performance also offers his teammate Luka Doncic an opportunity to play rather efficiently. This has ignited fervent debates on whether Kyrie Irving is the best co-star, considering players like Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant exist.

When asked whether the championship will solidify Irving as the best No. 2 during one such discussion, Stephen A. Smith confirmed his stance with a firm no. He added, “You can’t say that when there’s Scottie Pippen to Michael Jordan. You can’t say that when there’s Kobe Bryant to Shaquille O’Neal. You can’t just do that. Kyrie is one of the greatest, there’s no question about that…When you look at those two alone, you can’t leapfrog Kyrie over them…But he is definitely in a conversation in terms of the top three to five sidekicks in the history of basketball. No doubt about that.”

However, this left Isiah Thomas with a few suggestions of his own. Taking to X, Thomas immediately wrote, “I would like to enter @MagicJohnson @kaj33 into this discussion not sure who the Robin would be @FirstTake if Shaq and Kobe are being discussed.” He responded to the tweet by First Take wherein Kyrie Irving was being discussed.

While this debate is still fresh, let’s look at some sidekicks and how they fared.

Who’s the best co-star ever?

Being the best small point guard ever, Isiah Thomas has played against Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Scottie Pippen, and Michael Jordan. Therefore, he has a better understanding of stats. But the question is: are Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic really the No. 2 best co-stars ever? To evaluate that, we need to consider stats.

One of the best considered co-stars are O’Neal and Bryant; together, they won three consecutive NBA championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. In addition to this, Kobe Bryant helped Shaq with 2,042 assists in his career. Not only this with Bryant, Shaq has managed an average of 26.8 points, 3.0 assists, and 11.8 rebounds in 461 games.

On the other hand, Scottie Pippen and Jordan have averaged 17.1 points, 5.3 assists, and 6.4 rebounds in over 691 games, whereas Luka Doncic has an average of 32.0 points, 8.7 assists, and 9.1 rebounds in 67 games with Kyrie Irving. But even after considering these stats, no one could determine the best co-stars to exist in basketball history.

Nonetheless, one thing is clear: Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic are playing at their best level. Still, the question is: could they prove to be the No. 2 best co-stars? Comment down below!

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.