Kyrie Irving is known for many things, good and bad. While he dazzles fans with his pens, he also rubs some people the wrong way with his weird antics. Kyrie has given the NBA community an old pickup truck legend, Uncle Drew, and has also given fans years of Flat Earth jokes.
More recently, he reportedly fell off the radar and refused to join the Brooklyn Nets for reasons still unknown. Kyrie has now missed three games in a row. But now a video has surfaced showing the flamboyant security guard celebrating a birthday with his family.
Clearly, something is wrong again. Several reports have also suggested that the Nets are eagerly awaiting the six-time All-Star.
In honor of the mysterious guardian, it’s time to pay tribute to his ten strangest and most memorable moments.
10. I’m such a good shot.
Beantown sports fans won’t remember Kyrie’s first year-end race with the Boston Celtics. Apart from the second round defeat, the way the Celts lost left a bitter taste.
The Milwaukee Bucks had the Bucks on the ropes in game four. Kyrie Irving left the courtroom before the final bell. He missed 15 of 22 attempts and said he should have taken more shots.
I’m so good at shooting, Irving told reporters.
9. Sage burn in the garden TD
In her first TD Garden comeback against the Boston Celtics, the cameras caught Kyrie walking through the arena to burn sage – a Native American cleansing ritual meant to remove negative energy from the cosmos.
He just comes from a lot of local tribes, Kyrie told reporters after the game. Just release the energy, you want to make sure we are all in balance.
Kevin Durant probably gave a better idea that the scene wasn’t really great by saying it was just a Kyrie thing. He joked that his superstar teammate was resting in his room before playing NBA 2K at home.
8. Kyrie apologizes to LeBron
After losing to the Orlando Magic in the 2018-19 season, Kyrie Irving said she contacted LeBron James and apologized for his past actions.
I wanted to be the one to lead us to the championship. I wanted to be a leader. I wanted to be all those things.
Irving admitted he had to keep it in house when he criticized his young teammates after the Magic’s defeat.
7. Kyrie Disrupter
COVID-19 and the social injustices that marked the summer directly affected the men of the NBA. Despite all this, basketball is back on track.
This return did not come without some resistance from Kyrie, who Adrian Wojnarowski called a destroyer.
National Basketball Players Association Vice President Irving held a conference call with about 80 NBA and WNBA players. During this call, players had the opportunity to voice their concerns about the plan, given the current health risks and social unrest.
Irving would have opposed the return, but was willing to do what the majority decided. According to Irving, the resumption of the 2019-20 NBA season will only divert attention from the fight against racial injustice and underestimate the health risks.
While Irving had many good points and put the league on hold because of social injustice, many people did not understand Irving’s position.
In an initial report on Irving’s position, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN described Irving’s position as disruptive:
Irving has established himself as a disruptive force in his NBA career, and at this crucial moment for the NBA, he is back on the scene. Irving’s position has once again taken him out of the lineup, including his former Cavaliers teammate, LeBron James. The league’s superstars, most of whom are in the playoffs, are looking forward to another season and Irving seems to be enjoying the game.
Meanwhile, Kendrick Perkins said he was confused about the whole thing.
I’m very confused when it comes to Kyrie Irving……. Just 9 days ago he said this, and now suddenly something has changed! Now he’s started an unnecessary drama between the NBA brothers that we don’t need right now. https://t.co/Je1374Bh9a
– Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) June 14, 2020
Finally, the league took a one-day break because of Irving’s call-up a month earlier.
6. Chess game
As far as quotes go, Irving is a gift that keeps on giving. His relationship with the media during the preseason gave the basketball world many quotes to take back and use.
Irving caused a sensation when he announced that his play would speak for itself this season and apparently boycotted the media.
Perhaps he thought this strategy was a good idea, but the league didn’t see it that way and ruled that his boycott was a direct violation of the league’s media obligations.
Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn-based organization were fined $25,000 for violating school policy.
Irving then took to Instagram to tell the world he wasn’t talking to farmers.
I don’t talk to peasants.
Kyrie Irving says he was fined by the NBA for failing to meet the league’s media requirements pic.twitter.com/WPgj3MPZXH
– NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) on December 11, 2020.
Shots were fired at both the league office that administers the penalty kicks and the basketball reporters. Given the recent Kyrie we visited, where Wojnarowski reported that Irving had a reputation for destroying his career because he often spoke out against the creation of the league, Irving’s claims to the media have some validity.
How he treats her is another matter.
5. Trade Disparities
Kyrie Irving doesn’t talk to the pawns and doesn’t stop where he’s not satisfied. The loyal country knows that all too well.
Irving’s desire to leave Cleveland during the 2017 offseason was so strong that he threatened to undergo minor knee surgery in the middle of the 2017-18 season.
Irving first threatened to miss training camp and then underwent surgery that would rule him out for most – if not all – of the season.
Irving asked for a trade because he was unhappy playing alongside LeBron James.
4. Kiri Irving Grid
The final item on this list is the Kyrie Irving saga, which is still in development.
It all started on the 6th. January, during the siege of Capitol Hill. There are reports that Irving has decided not to play as a result of what happened.
Again, these are reports. Irving himself did not comment on the matter. His coach, Steve Nash, said he didn’t know why Irving wasn’t playing.
According to Jason Dumars, Kyrie is currently out of commission, so we don’t know when he’ll be back with the Nets.
Steve Nash said he doesn’t know why Kyrie Irving won’t play tonight against the Sixers because he doesn’t know Irving’s personal problem. Nash stated that he contacted Kyrie and received no response.
– Joe Vardon (@joevardon) January 7, 2021
Things got worse when videos surfaced on social media showing Irving at a big reunion with his family.
#KyrieIrving has been spotted in #Toronto alongside #Drake, and several Instagram channels confirm it.
This sucks for the #Nets, #KD and their fans. Maybe it’s time for #Kyrie to quit if he doesn’t want to be a #basketball player. would be better for all involved. #nba pic.twitter.com/Dd43adLLSJ
– OpenCourt Basketball (@OpenCourtFB) January 12, 2021
Depending on the date the video was taken, Irving could face a hefty fine if he misses games for violating COVID-19 league protocol. Irving is currently on the verge of missing his fourth consecutive game.
3. LeBron James Sneak Discs
In the first episode of Durant’s podcast, The Etcs, Irving delivered what many thought was a treatise on his former teammate LeBron James in the background.
The one thing I’ve always liked: I felt like I was the best option for any team I played for, Irving said, according to ESPN. This is the first time in my career that I’ve looked down and said: This motherf***** can also take this picture. And he’ll probably feel a lot better.
He continued: It’s not so much procrastination, because in past situations where I didn’t take that final hit, I felt guilty. I want to win this, but you also want to trust your teammates. Not that I don’t trust my teammates, but I felt I was the best option.
While he didn’t specifically mention James, fans quickly jumped to the conclusion that Irving didn’t think James was a clutch leader – especially after James won the MVP final alongside Irving.
While Kyrie Irving has had his share of crucial NBA moves, including the 2016 Finals, James has had a much bigger impact on the game over the course of his historic career.
Irving tried to get his facts straight after his initial words on social media, but few people believed him.
2. Kyrie Irving vs Young Boys.
Irving had a message for his young teammates after the Celtics’ 105-103 loss to Orlando Magic in 2018/19.
Young men know what it doesn’t take to be a championship level team, Irving told Ware GM Keith Smith. Just what you need every day. And if they think it’s hard now, what do they think it will be like when we try to make the final?
The young support team Irving was talking about made it to the 2018 playoffs even without Irving – there wasn’t much left until the final game. Irving believes that the pressure brought on by the young stars – Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart – is a surprising success that has had an impact on their game.
Last year we had nothing to lose, Irving said, according to the Boston Herald. We had nothing to lose and everyone was free to play and do what they wanted and no one had expectations. We had to be at a certain point, we got past that. Young people had to be at some point, they excelled at it….
We came into this season with an expectation, and it’s real. Everyone, from the coaching staff to the players, is very real every day, so it’s new. It’s hard. It’s hard, you know, so I think what we have in front of us now is nothing compared to standing on that podium and trying to get a gold trophy.
The Boston team has fallen behind and the narrative that Kyrie Irving is a weak leader has come to fruition.
1. Flat ground housing
The history of the flat began when Irving appeared on the Road Trippin’ podcast with his then Cleveland Cavaliers teammates, Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye.
During the podcast, Irving said: The earth is flat. …I’m telling you, it’s right in front of us. They’re lying to us.
Almost a year later, Irving developed his theory in an interview with UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma.
Irving had this to say:
It’s not about beating science. There was no intention of throwing a tantrum and being seen as that idiot. When I started seeing comments and things about universal truths that I knew, it was like I had questions.
When I started doing my own research and I discovered that there was no real picture of the earth, no real picture of the earth – and we haven’t been to the moon since 1961 or 1969 – it became a conspiracy, too.
While this is Kyrie Irving’s greatest success to date, with knowledge of Irving’s reputation, other examples will likely be added to this list.
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