Cleveland Cavaliers (2011–2017)
Irving announced that he would forgo his final three seasons of eligibility and enter the 2011 NBA draft, where Irving was selected with the first overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was named to the 2012 Rising Stars Challenge, where he played for Team Chuck. Irving scored 34 points in the game, going 8-of-8 from three-point range, and earned MVP honors. He also won the 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year Award with 117 of a possible 120 first-place votes. Irving was the only unanimous selection to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. For the season, he averaged 18.5 points, 5.4 assists and shot 46.9% from the field, including 39.9% on three-pointers.
While practicing with the Cavaliers in the NBA Summer League on July 14, 2012, Irving sustained a broken right hand after reportedly slapping it against a padded wall after committing a turnover. "I am a little disappointed," he said. "I have to be more responsible about my health. It was just crazy. It happened so fast." Four days later, it was announced that Irving would require hand surgery.
At the start of the 2012–2013 NBA season, Irving injured his index finger in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks. He played in the Cavaliers' next game, but the injury forced Irving to miss three weeks of action. In his second game back, while donning a black protective face mask to protect a broken bone he suffered against Milwaukee, Irving scored his then-career-high 41 points against the New York Knicks. He became the youngest player in NBA history to score 40 points in Madison Square Garden; Irving was a year younger than Michael Jordan, who did it in 1985.
The coaches selected Irving to play in his first All-Star game. Irving finished with 15 points, four assists, and three rebounds. He also participated in the Rising Stars Challenge again, scoring 32 points for Team Shaq in a losing effort. Irving participated in the Three-Point Contest and recorded 23 points in the final round to win the event. He ended his second season with averages of 22.5 points, 5.9 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game.
Fans chose Irving to be the starting point guard for the Eastern Conference in the 2014 NBA All-Star game. He was the All-Star game MVP, recording 31 points and 14 assists as the East beat the West 163–155.
On February 28, 2014, Irving recorded his first career triple-double with 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in a 99–79 victory over the Utah Jazz. This was also the Cavaliers' first triple-double since March 16, 2010. On April 5, 2014, Irving recorded a then career-high 44 points in a 96–94 overtime loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. He averaged 20.8 points, 6.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.5 steals on the season.
On July 10, 2014, Irving signed a five-year, $90 million contract extension with the Cavaliers. His contract extension came in the wake of LeBron James's return to Cleveland and Kevin Love's trade request from Minnesota, as the trio teamed up to start a new "Big Three" in Cleveland. After a shaky start to the season, where they fell to a 5–7 record after a November 22 loss to Toronto, the Cavaliers went on an eight-game winning streak, where Irving averaged 19.3 points per game, including a 37-point game against the New York Knicks on December 4.
After their streak-ending loss on December 11 to Oklahoma City, the Cavaliers went on to win just five more games in December, finishing 2014 at 18–14. All of the new Big Three missed time during December, contributing to the team's inconsistency and mediocre play. The Cavaliers began their 2015 schedule on January 2 as they snapped a three-game losing streak with Irving's help. He scored 23 points, and with Love's 27, the Cavaliers defeated the Charlotte Hornets 91–87. The next game against Dallas two days later, was a season low for Irving, who scored just six points before leaving in the third quarter with lower back tightness; the Cavaliers lost 109–90. Irving missed the following game against Philadelphia, before returning to action on January 7 against Houston to tie a then first-half career high of 23 points. He finished the game with a then season-high 38 points, but could not lead the Cavaliers to a win as they lost 105–93, the team's seventh loss in nine games.
After a six-game losing streak between January 4 and 13 dropped the Cavaliers to 19–20, Irving and James led them on a 12-game winning streak to bring them back into contention. During the streak, Irving averaged 24.5 points per game, including a then career-high 55 points on January 28 against Portland. His 11 three-pointers in that game set a Cavaliers franchise record while his 55 points were the second-most in Cavaliers history (behind James's 56) and the most scored in a home game, as well as the most points scored in Quicken Loans Arena history. Irving's 28 first-half points also set a new career high for points in a half.
On March 12, 2015, Irving scored a career-high 57 points, including a buzzer-beating three-point shot to send the Cavaliers into overtime, in a 128–125 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. It was the most points for a player in a regular-season game against the defending champion since January 14, 1962, when Wilt Chamberlain scored 62 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a loss to the Boston Celtics. The effort also surpassed the Cavaliers' franchise single-game scoring mark of 56 points, set by LeBron James against the Toronto Raptors on March 3, 2005.
Irving helped the Cavaliers win 34 of their final 43 games to finish the regular season as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 53–29 record. In his first career playoff game on April 19, Irving scored 30 points in a 113–100 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of their first-round playoff matchup. He went on to help the Cavaliers reach the NBA Finals for just the second time in franchise history despite missing two games in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Atlanta Hawks with a knee injury. After leaving Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors in the overtime period with a knee injury, Irving was ruled out for the rest of the series the following day with a fractured left kneecap that required surgery, sidelining him for three to four months. The Cavaliers eventually lost the series in six games despite a 2–1 lead.
On August 27, 2015, Irving was ruled unlikely to be ready for opening night of the 2015–16 season due to the left kneecap fracture he suffered in Game 1 of the 2015 NBA Finals. Irving made his season debut on December 20, scoring 12 points in 17 minutes as a starter against the Philadelphia 76ers. On January 6, he scored a season-high 32 points in a 121–115 victory over the Washington Wizards. On February 8, Irving tied his season high of 32 points and tied his career high of 12 assists in a 120–100 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Two days later, Irving topped his season high mark with 35 points in a 120–111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Cavaliers finished the regular season as the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 57–25 record. In the first round of the playoffs, they faced the eighth-seeded Detroit Pistons, and in a Game 1 win on April 17, Irving scored a playoff career-high 31 points. He tied that mark with another 31-point game in Game 4 of the series, helping the Cavaliers sweep the Pistons. The Cavaliers went on to breeze through the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 12–2 record to reach the 2016 NBA Finals, where they faced Golden State for the second straight year. Irving struggled with his shot in his debut Finals game, going 7-of-22 from the field for 26 points, as the Cavaliers were defeated 104–89 in Game 1. Facing a 3–1 deficit following a Game 4 loss, Irving and LeBron James took over in Game 5, each scoring 41 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 112–97 victory, forcing a Game 6. Irving and James became the first teammates to each score 40 points in an NBA Finals game. In Game 7, Irving hit a three-pointer with 53 seconds left in the game that propelled the Cavaliers to a 92–89 lead and an eventual 93–89 victory. The Cavaliers won the series 4–3 and became the first team to rally from a 3–1 Finals deficit, ending a 52-year major sports championship drought in Cleveland.
On October 25, 2016, after receiving his first championship ring prior to the season opener, Irving scored a game-high 29 points in a 117–88 victory over the New York Knicks. Three days later, he scored 26 points and hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 44.3 seconds remaining to lift the Cavaliers to a 94–91 victory over the Toronto Raptors. On November 27, Irving scored 19 of his then-season-high 39 points in the fourth quarter of the Cavaliers' 112–108 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. On December 5, he had a career-high 10th straight game with at least 20 points, finishing with 24 points in a 116–112 victory over the Toronto Raptors. On December 21, Irving had 31 points and a career-high 13 assists in a 113–102 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. On January 23, 2017, he scored 35 of his season-high 49 points in the second half of the Cavaliers' narrow 124–122 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans—their fifth loss in seven games. On February 1, Irving set a new career high with 14 assists in a 125–97 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. On March 3, he had a 43-point effort in a 135–130 win over the Atlanta Hawks. In the game, the Cavaliers set the NBA regular-season record with 25 three-pointers. On March 19, Irving had a 46-point effort in a 125–120 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. On April 9, he had a 45-point effort in a narrow 126–125 overtime loss to Atlanta.
In Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, Irving scored a playoff career-high 42 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 112–99 victory, taking a 3–1 lead in the series. With 24 points in Game 5 of the series, he helped the Cavaliers defeat the Celtics 135–102 to claim their third straight Eastern Conference title and a return trip to the NBA Finals. After going down 3–0 in the 2017 NBA Finals, Irving scored 40 points in Game 4 to help Cleveland extend the series and avoid a sweep with a 137–116 victory over the Golden State Warriors. However, the Cavaliers went on to lose to the Warriors in Game 5, losing the series 4–1.
