One might expect that the player with the highest postseason winning percentage in NBA history to belong to Bill Russell, Sam Jones, Tommy Heinsohn or any one of the former players of Boston Celtics glory who established one of the league’s first dynasty teams. Perhaps even a player like Tim Duncan, given the consistent success of the San Antonio Spurs’ program.
Michael Jordan, who went undefeated in six NBA Finals may even pop into the minds of some though he struggled to make deep postseason runs early in his career.
Yet, the player with the highest postseason winning percentage in NBA history (minimum 50 games) is none other than Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving, a player whose spectacular skill and indomitable will have catapulted him to superstardom.
As relayed by ABC’s broadcast team (h/t NESN’s Chris Grenham), Irving has won 76.4 percent of the playoff games he’s been in. That may surprise but consider that the first three career playoff opportunities Irving had came alongside LeBron James when he had a stranglehold on the Eastern Conference.
Irving, rapidly developing a reputation as a deadly scorer with the potential to be the best point guard in the league, certainly did his part. Through those three postseason appearances he averaged 23.9 points, 4.7 assists, 3.1 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 0.6 blocks per game while shooting 46.5 percent from the field, 41.5 percent from three-point range and 87.6 percent from the free-throw line.
In fact, his Irving’s ball-handling, finishing ability and shooting stroke was a direct compliment to the power, size, athleticism and passing prowess of James. The 1-2 punch they created, aided by a unique power forward in Kevin Love and a bevy of three-point specialists would allow them to run through the East on the way through three straight Finals appearances against the Golden State Warriors.
The Cavs would lose in six games in 2015 but Irving would only play in Game 1 after fracturing his kneecap. Cleveland win in seven games in 2016 and lose in five games in 2017 before Irving requested a trade in the offseason that led to him being traded to the Celtics.
Irving would miss the entirety of last season’s playoffs after undergoing a season-ending surgery to remove a bacterial infection in his surgically-repaired right knee from a surgery he had to remove the hardware from said knee (wow, right?).
However, he made a full recovery in the offseason to lead the Celtics through a rocky 2018-19 season that led to them being the fourth-seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs with a 49-33 record.
Boston is up 3-0 against the Indiana Pacers in the first round and Irving has been dominant, averaging 25.3 points, 8.0 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.0 block per game while shooting 45.2 percent from the field, 50.0 percent from three and 90.0 percent from the three-point line.
