Kyrie Irving vs Damian Lillard: Who's better? A statistical comparison

Verdict

Irving posting up Lillard

While both guards have a lot of similar strengths and weaknesses, and are around the same age (Lillard is 28 while Kyrie is 26), Lillard is more of a volume scorer than Irving and has to carry a larger offensive load than Kyrie for the majority of their careers, and this manifests itself in their shooting percentages. He runs more miles in a game on average, at a higher speed and is a bigger transition threat than Kyrie.

Both of them are absolutely clutch performers with iconic game winners in the playoffs - Lillard's shot to send the Rockets out of the first round of the 2014 playoffs is comparable to Kyrie's game-winning step-back jumper over Steph in the 2016 NBA Finals. Both are borderline unguardable on their day and have won tons of games for their teams on their own.

But I'm going to have to go with Kyrie Irving here. Even in a vacuum, he has virtually the same impact on games in lesser time on court, has the most complete offensive skillset in the game today - yes, better even than Curry, LeBron, Harden and Durant - and is a threat in a wider variety of situations on the floor.

There's a reason why Irving is regarded so highly around the league. There's a streak of genius to his game that Lillard just doesn't possess (though he makes up for it with tons of heart and a superior motor) - perhaps it's the Mamba Mentality in play, or it's just his ability to beat entire defenses in one move. Either way, opposition defenders are more likely to contain Lillard than Irving.