Dallas Mavs' Kyrie Irving Speaks on 'Mutual Respect' with Stephen Curry

Mavs superstar Kyrie Irving shared the respect he holds for Stephen Curry after their latest head-to-head matchup.

Apr 5, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) looks to score as / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

DALLAS — When the Dallas Mavericks faced off against the Golden State Warriors in two matchups this week, it marked the first time Kyrie Irving faced off against Stephen Curry head-to-head since he was traded from the Brooklyn Nets last season.

During Friday's matchup, Irving significantly guided the Mavs to a 108-106 victory despite Luka Doncic being sidelined due to injury. Irving racked up 26 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists on the night. Curry ended his performance with 28 points, six rebounds, and five assists.

Apr 5, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) looks to score as / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Irving emphasized that it's not a one-on-one battle when he and Curry face each other, but he respects Curry's impact on the NBA. The passionate fan bases that both superstars have always appreciated when they face off, and he understands the reasons for the intrigue and anticipation given their history against each other, particularly multiple NBA Finals battles.

"I mean, it's not a one-on-one battle between me and Steph, man, as much as fans make it," Irving said. "I don't know how long that conversation is going to probably continue until he retires or I retire. There's this comparison. He's a point guard. I'm a point guard. He's won four championships; I have one. We've played against each other in the finals a few times. He has a winning record.

"I just show respect to the guys like that. And he's put in a ton of work in our league," Irving explained. "He set the bar for a lot of us point guards of where we want to be [and] we're still chasing his legacy, sort of saying."

While there isn't a desire to stick it to Curry for the sake of doing so or vice versa, there is motivation to play at peak performance against another elite talent. Irving even described how he's taken inspiration from some of how Curry plays the game to incorporate into his own game.

"It's just inevitable as a competitor to want to play well against somebody like that," Irving said. "He brings the best out of you, he's going to come in and do his Steph Curry things. He's going to wow the crowd. He's going to get them going.

"And I think for me, I've just tried to take some of his strengths that he does well and incorporate them into my game," Irving explained. "I'm sure he's taking things from me, and we just learn from one another. It's that mutual respect."

The bar is set high by Curry for the rest of the NBA, including for Irving. Both superstars are one of the nine different players to achieve a 50-40-90 season while being some of the few to do it as high volume pull-up shooters. Irving would like to meet that mark again, but only has five games left to push his 49.3% field goal percentage above 50%.

"I don't know if we'll ever give the fans what they truly want in terms of out of our matchups, but it's just exciting to be in the league with a guy like that and see him break records every season," Irving said. "I'm still trying to scratch at this 50-40-90 season this year, and I think he's done it once or twice.

"It's easy to sit up here and kind of say negative things about a guy like that. But no, it's all positivity," Irving explained. "And when we get on the court, we're going to go at each other. That's the way it should be."