Common Defends Kyrie Irving's MLK Comparison, 'You Should Aspire To That'

Kyrie Irving SHOULD be comparing himself to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ... so says Common, who tells TMZ Sports the NBA superstar's recent comments were NOT out of line.

Of course, Uncle Drew faced backlash for calling out his team's roster last week ... and later compared the criticism to what MLK had to go through.

“When I was out for those seven weeks and not saying anything and still people are still saying things about me. It’s inevitable," Irving said.

"They crucified Martin Luther King for speaking about peace and social integration. You can go back to historical leaders and great people in society that do great things, and they’re still going to talk s**t about them. It is what it is."

We spoke with the rapper/actor/Oscar winner about Irving comparing himself to MLK ... and he's all for it.

"I love Kyrie," Common says. "He's a really intelligent and brilliant young dude. I love that he speaks his mind."

"Dr. King is Dr. King. I have no problem with us aspiring to be great like that. Sometimes people compare themselves like, I might say in a rhyme, like, I'm the Dr. King of rap."

Common says Irving clearly knows he's not actually MLK ... but that doesn't mean he should stop himself from striving to make an impact.

FYI -- Common was wearing Kyrie's signature kicks while leaving Equinox .. so there may be a little bit of bias. But, clearly, he thinks there was no disrespect.