After months of being banned from playing in his own arena, Kyrie Irving is finally returning to full-time playing status.
Earlier this week, New York City announced upcoming changes for their mandates, finally opening up a path for Irving’s season debut in Barclays Center.
Ahead of Saturday’s game against the Heat, the Nets star looked ahead to Sunday’s big game and shared his reaction to finally being set free from the rules that have bound him.
(via ESPN)
“Please take my comment seriously when I say I’ve been pinching myself since Wednesday and Thursday because there was a time where I got my hopes really, really high and all the air just got let out,” Irving said. “I didn’t want to get too excited. Still tonight, I’m trying to stay focused on this game. But I know tomorrow will eventually come and I’m looking forward to playing back in Brooklyn.”
The season has come with a lot of challenges for Uncle Drew and his squad. He has only played in 20 games total, and the Nets are just 3 games above .500 despite all their talent.
Still, Kyrie isn’t letting himself think negatively.
“To be honest, I signed up for this for the long run,” Irving said. “I love this year. I’m grateful. It has not been the prototypical year. But when I look at my teammates and I look at what we have as an organization. I’m looking for the long run and what we can do, legacy talk.”
By all accounts, Irving is bought-in on this season. He’s also fully committed to the team going forward. The future seems bright.
Unfortunately, Brooklyn is still not yet at full strength, as Ben Simmons is likely out until the 2022-23 campaign.
But with Irving finally able to suit up for home games, it gives Brooklyn the fire-power they’ve needed all season long, and sets them up to make some real waves in the East.
