Kyrie Irving has had a storied career as he has had plenty of moments that the NBA community will remember for years to come. While that is the case because of how great Irving is as a player, there is one moment that fans will remember that Irving wishes didn’t happen during his time with the Brooklyn Nets.
“I will say last time in Boston, I don’t think that was the best—not this regular season, but when we played in the playoffs and everyone saw me flip off the birds and kind of lose my (expletive) a little bit,” Irving said to reporters during his media session on Monday ahead of the NBA Finals that begins on Thursday.
Irving will be leading the Dallas Mavericks against the Boston Celtics, his former team, in his quest to winning another ring after winning his first one in the 2015-16 season as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. What Irving is referring to is his infamous flipping of the middle finger to Celtics fans during Game 1 of the first-round playoff series between the Nets and the Celtics during the 2021-22 season.
“That wasn’t a great reflection of who I am and how I like to compete on a high level,” Irving explained. “It wasn’t a great reflection on my end towards the next generation on what it means to control your emotions in that type of environment, no matter what people are yelling at you.”
Part of what makes Irving’s relationship with the Celtics franchise, other than playing for the team, is the fact that some fans still hold some resentment against Irving because of how his tenure with Boston ended. Despite Irving initially saying that he wanted his number in Boston retired after declaring that he intended to re-sign with the Celtics.
As many fans of the Celtics and Nets know, Irving did not end up re-signing with Boston as he ended up signing with Brooklyn in July of 2019, less than a year of his comments about re-signing with the Celtics. Given Irving’s comments ahead of facing his former team, it seems that he has understood the error of his ways.
Kyrie Irving admitted he “lost his shit a little bit” interacting with fans at TD Garden in his last playoff matchup against the Boston Celtics with the Brooklyn Nets. He feels he’s grown since then and can handle it better.
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— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) June 3, 2024
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