There aren’t many cases where the NBA community sees players come down to the mortal level and show off their skill set. But in some cases like invitational off-season pro tournaments such as the ‘Drew League’, NBA superstars like Kyrie Irving and LeBron James sometimes participate and display their dominance.
Of all the basketball pro-ams, the Drew League has to be the most famous. This is because it seems to be the league most endorsed by the best players in the world, that is NBA players. Players such as Kevin Durant and James Harden have also graced the Drew with their presence and this year a new name was added to its history, Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks.
Kyrie Irving became the first NBA player to drop a triple double in a Drew League game 🔥
20 points
13 rebounds
11 assists(via @DrewLeague / IG) pic.twitter.com/VoDbMkQaNR
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 22, 2023
‘Uncle Drew’ a.k.a Kyrie Irving pulled up to the Drew League and showed out. Irving dropped 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists, in a game where he looked to be the only man on the floor. To further prove his superiority, Kyrie was swatting his opponents and even almost pulled off a self-lob off-the-glass dunk.
LeBron James put up 42 points with 16 rebounds in his Drew League return in 2022
Before Irving this summer, it was LeBron James and DeMar DeRozan who were the NBA’s representatives at the Drew League. James understandably drew a much bigger crowd to the King-Drew Magnet High School where the game was to be held.
Drew League Commissioner Dino Smiley told NBA.com that about 2,500 fans attended James’ game, well above the 1,300 capacity that King-Drew Magnet High School normally holds. Smiley added that fans arrived as early as 6:30 a.m. PT, well before James’ scheduled appearance for a game at 1:45 p.m. PT.
James certainly put on a show, scoring 42 points, grabbing 16 boards, and collecting 4 steals by the end of the game. DeRozan contributed a solid 30 points and 14 rebounds. Another thing that can be noted about that particular Drew League game, was the fact that Chet Holmgren was playing in it. It was a move by LeBron James that subsequently ended up injuring Holmgren and put him out of the 2022-2023 NBA season.
James was unfortunately outshined by his former teammate and close friend Kyrie Irving this year as, Irving notched the first triple-double in Drew League history, something even ‘The King’ hasn’t been able to achieve, at least for now.