Is Kyrie Irving a Better Sidekick Than Scottie Pippen?

The MJ-LeBron debate is hands-down the most overplayed one in sports. You’ve heard both sides make their points by now, so there’s no purpose to re-hashing everything here. This debate should be retired for good.

But as long as the hot takes crowds at ESPN, Fox Sports, and just about everywhere else are going to keep rehashing it, that would make Kyrie Irving comparable to Scottie Pippen in a way. Irving's the co-pilot to LeBron just like Pippen was to Jordan.

It’s obviously a little difficult to compare the two players; both play different positions (point guard for Irving, small forward for Pippen), both played in different eras, and both bring a unique skill set to the table. Irving is more of a scorer than Pippen, while the latter played with a physicality that seldom pops up in today’s game. But in terms of role, each has a similar position with their team in respect to pure star power.

To compare two of the game’s most prolific sidekicks, we’re going to look at both players’ resumes in four categories: Regular-season stats, postseason stats, advanced analytics, and accolades. Since Irving has played six seasons in the NBA, he will be measured up against Pippen’s first six years in the League—this encompasses the 1987-88 season through the 1992-93 season. At this point, Pippen had just come off of his first three-peat with the Bulls, and unlike Irving, never had to play on any pre-LeBron Cavs teams that accomplished little.

So let’s take a look at the numbers:

Regular Season Stats

Pippen: 479 games, 34.5 MPG, .491 FG %, 16.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 5.1 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.8 BPG

Irving: 381 games, 34.2 MPG, .457 FG %, 21.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 5.5 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.3 BPG

As you could have probably guessed, Kyrie stands out as the better offensive player. He puts up more points per game and takes more shots than Pippen ever did. Ultimately though, it depends on what you’re looking for: If you’re looking for better scorer and are willing to sacrifice a little on defense, Kyrie is your guy. If you’re looking for a lockdown defender, there’s no question that it’s Pippen.

In terms of an overall stat line though, Pippen’s stands out as a little more well rounded. He wasn’t the dominant scorer that Kyrie was, but he didn’t need to be—he had Michael Jordan. So Pippen gets an ever so slight edge here.

Pippen, 1-0.

Postseason Stats

Pippen: 100 games, 39.2 MPG, .477 FG %, 17.9 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 5.2 APG, 1.9 BPG, 1.0 SPG

Irving: 52 games, 36.4 MPG, .465 FG %, 23.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.5 BPG

Both players’ stats go up markedly when the going gets tough. Irving played the first three seasons of his career on Cavs teams that failed to make the playoffs, so his sample is roughly half of Pippen’s. Pippen also had three championships at that point compared to Irving’s one—more about the championships later. Both players improve their stat lines in the games that matter most, but Pippen still maintains his overall advantage in four of the five major stat categories.

Pippen, 2-0.

Advanced Stats

Pippen: 18.1 PER, 18.6 Offensive Win Shares, 25.9 Defensive Win Shares 44.5 Win Shares, 24.8 VORP

Irving: 21.3 PER, 31.2 Offensive Win Shares, 9.1 Defensive Win Shares, 40.4 Win Shares, 16.2 VORP

The discrepancies between both players’ offensive and defensive skills are illustrated perfectly in the advanced stats. Pippen is nowhere near as offensively potent as Irving is, but Pippen is still obviously an all-time great defender by the advanced stats. Defense isn’t going to sell season tickets, but it is half of the game. The Bulls may have never been in position to win many key close games with an inferior defender playing small forward over Pippen.

Irving’s offensive dominance is indicated by his 31.2 offensive win shares, and his game there is a big driver of his player efficiency rating. But here, we can see that the discrepancy between the two players’ defense is far larger than the discrepancy between their offense. This holds true with the players’ offensive and defensive plus-minus—a stat that indicates how many points per 100 possessions above or below average that player contributed. On offense, Irving posts a 4.5 career plus-minus, but a -1.5 on defense. Pippen has a 1.9 on offense, but a stellar 3.4 on defense.

Pippen, 3-0.

Accolades

Pippen:

• NBA Champion, 1991-93

• Three All-Star appearances

• One All-NBA Second Team Appearance

• One All-NBA Third Team Appearance

• Two All-NBA Defensive First Team Appearances

• One All-NBA Defensive Second Team Appearance

• 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist

Irving:

• NBA Champion, 2016

• Four All-Star appearances

• One All-NBA Third Team Appearance

• 2012 Rookie of the Year

• 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist

Pippen has more of just about everything at this point in his career than Irving does. He has more titles and All-NBA nods than Kyrie. Irving obviously hasn’t made any All-NBA Defensive Teams, due to his lackluster defense.

But had it not been for the defense, the two would be pretty even. Irving has one more All-Star appearance than Pippen did, both have an Olympic Gold Medal and Irving had a Rookie of the Year award that Pippen didn’t have. But much like in the first three categories, Pippen’s status as an all-time great defender catapults him ahead of Irving—although Irving is as formidable a sidekick as any other player in the NBA. But by our assessment, Irving comes across as the inferior player. This should in no way trivialize how great he’s been.

Irving is probably the second-best player in the Eastern Conference, behind LeBron (although that might say more about the Eastern Conference than it does about the Cavs), and he may not have even hit his ceiling yet. If he keeps playing the way that he’s playing, there’s little question that he will end up in the Hall of Fame one day, just like Pippen.

But if tasked to chose the better sidekick right now, the numbers say it’s Pippen.