A fan debate that surfaced this week asks whether Jayson Tatum has already surpassed Kyrie Irving’s career. The premise carries obvious bias — the poster identifies as a Celtics fan still stinging from Irving’s 2019 exit — but the underlying question holds up under scrutiny better than you might expect.
Start with the credential that matters most for career ranking: All-NBA selections. Tatum has been named to the First Team four consecutive times (2022–2025), plus a Third Team nod in 2020. Irving has three All-NBA selections in 14 seasons — one Second Team, two Third — and has never made the First Team. That gap alone is decisive. First Team All-NBA means you were one of the five best players in the league that year. Tatum has been told that four times. Irving has been told it zero.
MVP voting tells the same story. Tatum has finished fourth twice and sixth twice. Irving’s name has never appeared near the top of a ballot in a meaningful way.
Both players own one championship ring. Irving’s came as the second option beside LeBron James in Cleveland, where his Game 7 shot in the 2016 Finals remains one of the biggest baskets…
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