Kyrie Irving has been a vital player for the Dallas Mavericks in their run to the NBA Finals this season. He has been their second-best scorer and often their go-to guy in the clutch. His arrival has taken a lot of the pressure off Luka Doncic, who otherwise was expected to do the lion share of things on the offensive end. Although Irving had struggled at the start of his stint in Dallas last season, he has found his role and is excelling in it this campaign.
The 32-year-old will be up against a familiar opponent in the Boston Celtics during the NBA Finals. Irving played two seasons with the seventeen-time champions but failed to lead them to a championship. He left the franchise abruptly and joined forces with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn. This move was not taken well by the fans in Boston and they make sure to make life difficult for the eight-time All-Star every time he visits the TD Garden.
Kyrie Irving is going to be a pivotal piece for the Dallas Mavericks in the series against the Boston Celtics. He will have to be strong-headed and expect that the fans in Boston are going to be hostile towards him. However, the point guard has a role to fulfill and that is to lead the Mavericks to an NBA championship. He cannot let the fans get to his head as that could lead to him having a tough time against the Celtics.
Kyrie Irving’s time with the Boston Celtics was underwhelming
Kyrie Irving demanded a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers after the 2016-17 NBA season. He wanted to move away from the shadow of LeBron James and be a star on his own. This led him to move to Boston, where they already had young talent in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Kyrie Irving was expected to be a mentor to the duo, but things didn’t work out well.
The former NBA champion suffered a season-ending injury that kept him out of action for the entire 2018 playoffs. In the following season, he played well, but the Celtics were not able to move past the second round. Irving entered free agency in the offseason and signed with the Brooklyn Nets, which put the Celtics in an extremely tough spot. They did not have a proper point guard and had been forced to bring Kemba Walker onto the roster. Although he had a few good outings, injuries derailed his career and he eventually left the league in 2023.
His move from the Celtics was considered selfish, but three years later it looks like it worked out well for both parties. While the seventeen-time champions found their point guard, Irving tried it out in Brooklyn and then moved to Dallas where is highly appreciated. He will be serenaded by the crowd with boos, but the 32-year-old has faced that before in his career. His personality is a little complicated and this leads to him being often misunderstood by fans and the media. But it is safe to say that Uncle Drew has finally won the respect of the NBA world with his work in Dallas.
