Stephen A. Smith puts Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving at fourth in greatest backcourts of all time joining Steph, Klay, and other legends

Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are one win away from making it to the NBA finals.

Stephen A. Smith puts Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving at fourth in greatest backcourts of all time joining Steph, Klay, and other legends

Stephen A. Smith considers Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving among the best backcourts in NBA history.

The dynamic duo of the Dallas Mavericks have been spectacular in the current postseason. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving‘s unstoppable performance in the Western Conference finals has the league comparing them to the best player duos in history. Now, NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith has joined the conversation as he ranked them in his top 5 list of the greatest backcourts in the NBA.

It all started during Game 2 of the West finals when announcer Stan Van Gundy called the Mavericks duo the most talented backcourt in NBA history. This resulted in debates and members of the league arguing over SVG’s take. As a result, Stephen A. Smith decided to give his top favorites and he ranked Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving the fourth pair on the list during ESPN’s First Take. 

Luka and Kyrie. Let me tell you why they're at four. They ain't got no chip yet...We can revisit this in a month or so but until then, until they win a chip, we can't put them above four.
Stephen A. Smith said

Despite only playing two seasons together, Smith considers the Mavs duo one of the best. Smith is immensely impressed by the pair as he put them above the Boston Celtics legends Bob Cousy and Sam Jones who won five back-to-back championships together.

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However, Smith had three better backcourts above Doncic-Irving including Pistons veterans Isiah Thomas–Joe Dumars and the Lakers Magic Johnson–Byron Scott. While Smith gave his respect to all the greats, the analyst had the Splash Brothers at the top. According to Smith, the four-time champions Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are above all the legendary backcourts.

Shannon Sharpe does not have Luka-Kyrie on his top 5 list

All the other guard duos in Smith’s list have played in multiple finals together. The legends have dominated numerous seasons with their winning streaks which is not the case for Doncic and Irving. The pair’s potential final appearance would be their first along with Doncic’s.

Hence, Smith co-host Shannon Sharpe did not have the duo on his list. As the football veteran agreed with Smith for most of his rankings, Sharpe had the Knicks duo Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe at four. Sharpe praised Doncic and Irving but stated that they do not have a championship together. 

He (Smith) put Luka and Kyrie up there and they're sensational but they ain't got no hardware yet.
Shannon Sharpe said

However, Sharpe added that the situation might be different next year. The Mavericks are one win away from advancing to the NBA finals by defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves. But Doncic and Irving have to go through the Boston Celtics to win it all.

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