Comparing Ricky Rubio and Kyrie Irving to Current Stars and NBA Legends

Kyrie Irving and Ricky Rubio are two fantastic rookie point guards who are leading their teams in a new direction. Both players look like future stars, but they are two different types of point guards. 

The two point guards represent two schools of players at the position. There is the facilitator who looks primarily to set up his teammates and is often referred to as a "purer point guard."

Then there is the type of player who is another one of those players who sets up his own shot. He looks to both score and pass. This is what is referred to as a "scoring point guard." 

Ricky Rubio is more of a "pure point guard" and Irving is more of a "scoring point guard." 

Neither is the "right" way to play the position. There are players who have won NBA championships as both types. There are those who hold up the "pure point guard" as being the way the position is supposed to be played, hence the use of the word "pure." 

Players like Magic Johnson and Isaiah Thomas, who led the league in scoring while leading their teams to championships, would suggest otherwise. 

On the other hand, in 1987 Johnson became the only player since the merger to lead his team in assists and win the championship in the same year. 

Here are some players, past and present, whom Irving and Rubio resemble, at least in aspects of their game. 

The Best of Both Worlds: Steve Nash

Steve Nash is interesting because there are aspects of his game which both Irving and Rubio possess. 

On the one hand, Nash is one of the better passers the league has ever known. Only five players have passed for more assists in the history of the game. His style of penetrating, breaking apart defenses and always knowing where the open man is is similar to what Rubio does.

On the other hand, he's also one of the best shooters the league has ever seen. He is the only player in the history of the league to have a career field-goal percentage of .480, a three-point percentage of .400 and a free-throw percentage of .900. 

Irving is a promising shooter. He held similar averages in his brief college career and could do the same as a pro. 

That Nash is among the best who ever played both as a passer and shooter, though, reminds us of just how amazing his career has been. 

Ricky Rubio Current Player Comparison: Jason Kidd

When Jason Kidd was drafted, Rubio was four years old and Irving was two. It's not an exaggeration to say that they both literally grew up watching Kidd play. Rubio, though, is more Jason Kidd than Irving is. 

In the history of the NBA, only John Stockton has more assists than Kidd. Kidd has utilized his extraordinary court vision to find open players and consistently make those around him better. Rubio exhibits similar traits. 

Rubio is not just a passing fancy, he's a fancy passer. His vision makes him see things on the court mere mortals just don't see. This is very reminiscent of Jason Kidd. 

Kyrie Irving Current Player Comparison: Chauncey Billups

The only point guard in the history of the league with more assists, a higher effective field-goal percentage, and a higher three-point percentage than Chauncey Billups is Steve Nash. 

Kyrie Irving is not in the "Derrick Rose" mold of scoring point guards, in the sense that he's more of a "shooter" than a "driver." While he is not the same threat to get to the rim, (although he can, just not as capably as Rose) he is more of a threat to stop and pop. 

This is similar to Billups, who, while he doesn't have the regular season MVPs to his credit, does have a Finals MVP. I'm willing to bet that Dan Gilbert and the Cleveland faithful would be more than happy to see Irving bring home on of those. 

Ricky Rubio's Ceiling: Pete Maravich

"Pistol" Pete Maravich was one of the great passers and ball handlers the league has ever known. While he never led the league in assists but did lead the league in scoring, he's more known for his passing than his shooting. 

It is Maravich to whom Rubio is most frequently compared. It's because of the playmaking itself—the way to generate points out of seemingly nothing—that Ruibo brings Maravich to mind. 

Both players use outstanding ball-handling skills to create chaos on defenses, then exploit the weaknesses they've created. 

Kyrie Irving's Ceiling: John Stockton

One of the more underrated players in the history of the game is John Stockton. When you talk about the greatest point guards ever, for some reason he's always dismissed, almost without due consideration.

He wasn't a spectacular passer or scorer. What he was though is a man who could hit an open man, handle the ball well enough to move in traffic, and shoot much better than people realize. For his career, Stockton shot .515 from the field, .384 from three and .826 from the stripe over his career. 

In the end, while he might not have had the "amazing" passes all the time, he's the all-time leader in assists. While he wasn't the flashiest scorer, he came just 289 points away from 20,000 for his career. 

Similarly, Irving is sometimes almost dismissed as someone who does everything well but nothing great. The thing is, when you do everything well, you don't have to do anything great to be great. Irving, like Stockton, can either use his passing to set up his shot or use his shot to open up the court for his teammates. 

Irving might not have the same flash, but in the end he'll get the job done.