Kyrie Irving made his return last night for the Brooklyn Nets. Irving, who was removed from the team due to New York’s vaccine mandate and his unvaccinated status, was given the green light recently to return as a part-time player to play road games. Irving’s return was mostly due to the rise in COVID-19 cases and the Nets losing a lot of players.
Irving looked good in his return, as he scored 22 points in his first game back. Fans were thrilled to see Kyrie back, proclaiming the Nets to be the favorites for the NBA championship. The first game back for the Nets big three of Irving, Kevin Durant, and James Harden was a success. And Irving was a welcome sight for all Nets fans, especially because of how long he had been away from the team.
But the fans weren’t the only ones who were excited to see him. Kyrie Irving was giving a post-game interview after the game against the Pacers. During the interview, Kevin Durant approached him with a warm hug and a message welcoming him back to the team after an extended absence.
“Welcome f*cking back!”
Durant was clearly thrilled to have Kyrie back on the team. The two superstars are very close friends, and Irving was even a big part of why Durant joined the Brooklyn Nets over the New York Knicks. Having joined the Nets together with the idea of playing together, you could see how much it meant to KD to have Kyrie back on the squad.
Going forward, we will have to wait and see what effect Kyrie’s part-time status will have on the rest of the team and their overall chemistry. Unless he gets vaccinated anytime soon, Kyrie will not be allowed to play home games. Having Kyrie only for away games is less than ideal, but the Nets will take it given how much more challenging the Eastern Conference has gotten.
