Irving played for Montclair Kimberley Academy during his freshman and sophomore years in high school. Irving averaged 26.5 points, 10.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.6 steals and became only the second 1,000 point scorer in the school's history. In his sophomore year, Irving led MKA to its first New Jersey Prep 'B' state title. After that year, he transferred to St. Patrick High School because Irving felt he needed a bigger challenge. He had to sit out the first 30 days of St. Patrick's season due to the transfer. At St. Patrick, Irving played with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who was widely regarded as one of the best players in the class of 2011.

In his first season, Irving averaged 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game, and led the team to its third New Jersey Tournament of Champions title in four years. In August 2009, he led the USA East to the tournament title in the Nike Global Challenge. Irving was the MVP with 21.3 points and 4.3 assists per game. The next year, St. Patrick was banned from the state tournament for holding practice prior to the permitted start of the winter sports season. St. Patrick went 24–3 and won the Union County Tournament championship as Irving finished his senior year with 24.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game.

On January 19, 2010, Irving was selected to the 2010 Junior National Select Team. The team played at the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon, on April 10. He was also selected to play in the 2010 McDonald's All-American Game and the 2010 Jordan Brand Classic, where Irving was named co-MVP with Harrison Barnes. In June 2010, Irving was a part of the United States gold medal-winning team at the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship.

Irving committed to Duke on October 22, 2009, in a television broadcast on ESPNU. He played with the Blue Devils during the 2010–2011 basketball season under the guidance of head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Through the first eight games of the season, Irving averaged 17.4 points per game on 53.2% shooting, 5.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals.

Irving was a strong contender for NCAA Freshman of the Year until suffering an injury to his right big toe during the ninth game of the season. On March 17, the day before Duke played Hampton in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Irving returned for his first game since his injury.

Duke advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament but fell to Arizona. Irving scored 28 points in what turned out to be his last game for Duke.

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.

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