Exclusive: Mavericks' Jason Kidd Confident Kyrie Irving Will Surpass 20,000 Points — 'He's Only 2,000 Away'

Jason Kidd praises Kyrie Irving's scoring ability as he surpasses 18,000 career points, predicting a future 20,000-point milestone for the Dallas Mavericks guard.

Photo: Nick White/DallasHoopsJournal.com

DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving became the 81st player in NBA history to surpass 18,000 career points during the team’s 115-114 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this month.

Irving, who entered the game with 17,997 career points, reached the milestone with a mid-range jumper before finishing with 36 points and nine assists. Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd sees Irving surpassing the 20,000 mark soon.

"Yeah, he's only 2,000 away from 20,000," Kidd told DallasHoopsJournal.com. "I think he'll get 20,000 plus. Just his ability to score. We know the way he finishes with both hands, his creativity. I think, again, we can't take him for granted. Eighteen thousand is a lot of points."

Kidd, known more for his passing than scoring during his Hall of Fame career, joked with Irving that it’d be cool if he finished with 10,000 assists. During his 19-year career, Kidd racked up 17,529 points and 12,091 assists. While Irving has more points, he’d have a ways to go in the assist department after recently surpassing 4,300 assists.

“Jokingly with him, I told him I didn't know how many assists he had, but if you got to the 10,000 mark, that'd be kind of cool,” Kidd told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “But just understanding his ability to score, I think he's going to be one of those guys. That will be 20,000+.”