The greatest backcourts in NBA history

2024 NBA Finals preview

Is it worth comparing Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving to classic backcourt combos in basketball history, before the pair even tries out its first title?

It is true Luka and Kyrie only played alongside each other for 16 months, with a single postseason appearance to their credit, but this shouldn’t stop us wondering where they rank.

So who are Kyrie and Dončić closest rivals?

Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman

Dominant not only on the court, but off: Bob and Bill were six-time Boston Colonial Commonwealth Insurance Salesmen of the Quarter during the 1956, 1957 and 1959 and 1960 offseasons. Blown off course in 1958 due to not only Eisenhower’s recession, but also an unexpectedly busy summer as volunteer firefighters.

Walt “Clyde” Frazier and Earl “the Pearl” Monroe

The overarching favorite due to nicknames, Dallas’ pair cannot compete.

“Luka” doesn’t rhyme with “pearl,” and Kyrie agreed with Bosley Crowther’s searing New York Times review of ‘Bonnie and Clyde,’ critically the idea that the film’s “blending of farce and violence” acted “pointless as it is lacking in taste, since it makes no valid commentary upon the already travestied truth.”