Kyrie Irving: How Does the Cavs Star Rookie Compare to the NBA's Elite PG's?

Kyrie Irving is quickly becoming a household name, and deservedly so.

The Cavaliers rookie is leading all freshman in scoring at over 18 points a game, while also delivering 3.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.

While he didn't make this years All-Star Game, many would argue he's already one of the league's best point guards at the tender age of 19.

So, how exactly does Irving match up against some of the league's best floor generals?

Let's take a look.

Scoring

Scoring isn't exactly job No. 1 for a point guard, but it certainly doesn't hurt to have someone who can put more pressure on opposing defenses.

It's also no surprise that the supposed elite guards are all at the top of this list.

The leading scorers among point guards in the NBA are as follows:

Rank	Player Name	Points Per Game
1st	Russell Westbrook	23.5
2nd	Deron Williams	22.2
3rd	Derrick Rose	21.8
4th	Tony Parker	19.4
5th	Chris Paul	19.2
6th	Brandon Jennings	18.4
7th	Kyrie Irving	18.1
8th	John Wall	16.8
9th	Stephen Curry	16.5

Impressively, Irving is already seventh among all point guards in scoring, despite playing only 31 minutes a game—less than every player above him on the list.

Able to score from anywhere on the court, expect his scoring numbers to only increase as his career progresses.

Passing

Irving's assist numbers aren't going to impress many as they currently stand, but his 11 in the Cavaliers' last game against the New Orleans Hornets was a career high.

Here are the assist leaders among NBA point guards:

Rank	Player	Assists Per Game
1st	Steve Nash	10.9
2nd	Rajon Rondo	9.5
3rd	Jose Calderon	8.9
4th	Chris Paul	8.6
5th	Ricky Rubio	8.4
6th	Deron Williams	8.2
7th	Tony Parker	8.1
8th	Derrick Rose	7.7
25th	Kyrie Irving	5.1

With the Cavaliers' current roster, Irving is being asked to score more than most point guards in the league due to Cleveland's lack of scoring threats.  As the Cavaliers add more talent through the draft and free agency, expect Irving's assist numbers to increase since he'll have more options to pass to.

Player Efficiency

Irving leads the Cavaliers in player efficiency rating, or PER, but how does he match up with the league's best?

Rank	Player Name	PER
1st	Chris Paul	26.02
2nd	Derrick Rose	24.48
3rd	Russell Westbrook	23.03
4th	Steve Nash	22.52
5th	Tony Parker	22.32
6th	Stephen Curry	21.70
7th	Lou Williams	21.30
8th	Deron Williams	21.25
9th	Kyrie Irving	20.74

Impressively, Kyrie ranks ninth among NBA point guards despite only playing in 28 career games. 

It's a nice sign that the leader in PER is also the same player that Irving's game is most often compared to: Chris Paul. Paul's PER his rookie year was 22.1, so Irving isn't too far off.

Field-Goal Shooting

The point guard's main job is to distribute, but it's important that they can knock down a shot with some regularity as well.

Irving has impressed many by his shooting, including an 8-of-8 performance on three-pointers in the Rising Stars Challenge en route to a game MVP award. 

Here's how Irving's shooting compares to other floor generals:

Rank	Player Name	Field Goal %
1st	Steve Nash	.542
2nd	Mario Chalmers	.512
3rd	Chris Paul	.489
4th	Rajon Rondo	.485
5th	Stephen Curry	.481
6th	Kyrie Irving	.476
7th	Ty Lawson	.473
8th	Russell Westbrook	.470
9th	Jeff Teague	.469

Easily the youngest player on this list, Irving owns the sixth-best field-goal percentage among all point guards. 

Even some of the game's best, like Derrick Rose, Deron Williams, Tony Parker and John Wall, look up to Kyrie when it comes to shooting.

Free-Throw Shooting

Not just a great shooter from the field, Irving has also been clutch this season at the line, as evidenced by his game-winning performance against the Sacramento Kings.

Here's the stats:

Rank	Player Name	Free Throw  %
1st	Chauncey Billups	.895
2nd	Mike Conley	.886
3rd	Kyle Lowry	.872
4th	Chris Paul	.865
5th	Steve Nash	.861
6th	Kyrie Irving	.857
7th	Deron Williams	.853
8th	Luke Ridnour	.852
9th	Ramon Sessions	.843

Irving has a pure stroke and already ranks sixth among all point guards at the charity stripe.  His .857 percentage already puts him ahead of notables Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker, John Wall and Derrick Rose.

Steals

A huge part of a point guard's defensive repertoire is their ability to play the passing lane and create steals for their team.

Here's how Kyrie compares:

Rank	Player Name	Steals Per Game
1st	Mike Conley	2.47
2nd	Ricky Rubio	2.35
3rd	Chris Paul	2.27
4th	Kyle Lowry	1.97
5th	Russell Westbrook	1.85
6th	Stephen Curry	1.76
7th	Jason Kidd	1.75
8th	Jeff Teague	1.71
31st	Kyrie Irving	.82

Coming in at only 31st among point guards, Irving even ranks below many backups in the league.

The leaderboard is an interesting one, with 17-year veteran Jason Kidd and rookie Ricky Rubio both atop the standings.

Expect this number to grow for Irving as his career progresses, but for now, Irving's defense definitely needs work.

Assist-to-Turnover Ratio

Perhaps the most telling of statistics for a point guard is the assist-to-turnover ration, detailing how well they take care of the ball.

The league leaders are as follows:

Rank	Player Name	Assist/TO
1st	Jose Calderon	4.68
2nd	Chris Paul	3.78
3rd	Lou Williams	3.24
4th	Tony Parker	3.13
5th	Steve Nash	2.95
6th	Darren Collison	2.87
7th	Jarrett Jack	2.86
8th	Mike Conley	2.79
39th	Kyrie Irving	1.66

This is a disturbing statistic for Irving, but one that can be expected for a rookie. 

For the season, Kyrie averages 5.1 assists and 3.1 turnovers per game.  For comparison, league leader Jose Calderon puts up 8.9 assists to only 1.9 turnovers a game—extremely impressive numbers for a guard.

Conclusion

So to recap, here's where Irving ranks among all qualified NBA point guards in major stat categories:

Stat Category	NBA PG Ranking
Points Per Game	7th
Assists Per Game	25th
PER	9th
Field Goal %	6th
Free Throw %	6th
Steals	31st
Assist/TO Ratio	39th

Despite only playing 28 career games thus far, Kyrie Irving is already a top-10 NBA point guard when it comes to scoring, player efficiency and field-goal and free-throw shooting.

The knocks you could make on Irving so far are his high number of turnovers, low number of assists and suspect defense at times.  With continued experience and better teammates in the future, expect these numbers to improve, however.

So is Kyrie Irving an elite point guard?  I would say no, but he's certainly knocking on the door.  As he improves his defense and learns to take better care of the ball, you should hear his name mentioned with the Chris Pauls and Derrick Roses in discussions for best NBA point guard in a couple years.

For now, though, the kid's doing alright.