Kyrie Irving played a crucial in the Mavericks’ Game 5 win over the Timberwolves to seal their spot in the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. Irving, a former Celtic, opened up on the matchup against the team with whom he had a controversial two-year stint from 2017 to 2019.
“I am at a place in my life where I don’t consider those past moments. I was able to unpack them in a healthy way, move forward as a person. I had a rough time there when I was in Boston, just dealing with a death in my family and off-court stuff I wasn’t ready to handle.”
Irving showed his respect for the Celtics’ roster and seemed excited to match up with them in the NBA Finals.
“Now that I am in a great place to be able to vocalize how I’m feeling, I’m ready to go back into Boston and have fun with my teammates. I know we’re going to be locked in and we’re going against a great Boston team that has earned their way to the NBA Finals. I see them as a formidable opponent, an honest opponent, and we’re going to see the best team win.”
Kyrie talks to @notthefakeSVP about facing the Celtics in the NBA Finals 👀 pic.twitter.com/vIsjHXWNck
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 31, 2024
Kyrie has averaged 22.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.2 assists through this Playoff run for the Mavericks. While his scoring numbers are down, anyone who’s watched the Mavs play can see Kyrie’s overall impact on the floor. He’s playing the best defense of his career as an on-ball defender and is the perfect link for the Mavs’ offense as their secondary ball-handler.
This is his fourth NBA Finals appearance. He was injured during his first Finals appearance in 2015 but hit the game-winning shot for the Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals to win his only title. He also went to the 2017 Finals and lost, before leaving the Cavaliers for the Celtics.
Irving has ended a seven-year Finals drought in his career with the Mavs’ Game 5 win tonight.
Kyrie Irving’s History Against The Celtics
Kyrie has had some tense moments with the Celtics, boiling down to him leaving the team in 2019 in free agency after promising fans that he would be re-signing. His time on the Celtics was marred with injuries and off-court drama which led to a lot of criticism for the guard who left a contending situation with LeBron James to be a leader.
Irving averaged 24.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 6.1 assists in his two seasons with the Celtics, missing fair amounts of time including their 2018 Playoff run due to injury.
His leadership didn’t have much impact on the young Celtics, causing issues in the 2018-19 season that led to Kyrie wanting to leave the team after promising fans he’d be re-signing. The Brooklyn Nets enticed Kyrie to join them and form a superstar duo with Kevin Durant.
The Nets faced the Celtics in the Playoffs twice, with the first year resulting in a convincing series win for the Nets in the first round of the 2021 Playoffs. Irving was seen stomping on the Celtics’ logo at halfcourt, prompting fan ire. The 32-year-old has been referred to as one of the most hated athletes in Boston sports history.
The Celtics have beaten Irving in every matchup since the stomp, with the guard on a 10-game losing streak, including a sweep loss in the 2022 Playoffs. This is his chance for redemption, and he won’t be going down without a fight.
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