Love him or hate him, nobody can deny that Kyrie Irving hasn’t always kept his word when it comes to announcing his loyalties.
On Twitter, one fan went semi-viral after flaming him for his track record of abandoning teams after verbally committing to stay with them. They even went so far as to call Uncle Drew ‘the biggest liar in NBA history.’ Check it out:
Nah Kyrie gotta be the biggest liar in nba history 😭 pic.twitter.com/sqFvUUP9VV
— 𝕵𝖆𝖗𝖎❄️🎄 (@JariDaRealist) August 6, 2022
Of course, the Tweet got mixed reactions from the community, with some people joining in on the hate parade while others stood up in Irving’s defense.
https://twitter.com/sosa00711/status/1555948734164439042
Al Horford knew that was some BS pic.twitter.com/3aDgQBwcGP
— J Hargrove (@JHargrove49) August 6, 2022
The Celtics and the fan base by the end did not for a second hope he would resign. Kyrie is still in Brooklyn. Plus kyrie didn’t leave just like Lebron. He ran from Lebron
— bomby_leonard98 (@BombyLeonard) August 6, 2022
Dude cant stay anywhere. He will go team to team to team while sitting out for whatever reaso Or being hurt half the time
— Mikey 💯 (@F4stMoney) August 6, 2022
1. He said he planned on resigning not that he would. Everything was going accordaung to plan and he was going to start making move for players but his Grandfather’s passing messed stuff up for him
2.Kyrie is staying Kd requested a trade
3. Why would he just say yes to a kid😭
— Kyrie enthusiast (@ClutchKai11) August 6, 2022
To be fair what else is he supposed to tell a little kid
— TlawFC (6'3)🐐 (@JAGA_NBANFLMLB) August 6, 2022
Kyrie is staying in Brooklyn Lmao.
— Ball Knower (@user12346758) August 6, 2022
When looking back on Irving’s career, there are a few moments that stand out. During his last summer with the Cavaliers, he forced the team to trade him just a few summers after winning the title in 2016. He didn’t really give any clear reasons at the time, but many believe he just wanted to get away from LeBron James.
He ended up going to Boston for a couple of seasons, but his split from that franchise was even worse than his departure from Cleveland. This time, he just up and left as a free agent despite telling the world earlier that he would re-sign when given the chance. It was a pretty bad look for Irving, but he has since provided an explanation.
Heading into 2019, he tells the Celtics management he is going to re-sign, which leads to him telling the same thing to his teammates and the fans.
He also said that he had some “plans up his sleeve” hinting at potential trades he was tampering.
However, a week after he said he was coming back, his grandfather passed away. This leads to him not being himself emotionally that entire year, being angry and depressed. He said he struggled handling grieving while in the public eye, and would’ve handled things differently if he could have.
Also pointed out that he thought the fan base was too excessive across the board with all their sports teams in how they react to opposing teams and when their own team is not playing well. In the end, he went to Brooklyn to be with his family and be closer to home (h/t Redditor ImDKingSama).
Now, in Brooklyn, he’s up to the same antics he pulled before. After committing to play with Kevin Durant and the Nets as recently as this summer, Irving’s name has been plastered all over social media as part of trade rumors and reports.
While he has yet to actually make a formal trade request (unlike his co-star Kevin Durant), the fall of this Nets team is almost exclusively on his shoulders, and he will likely carry the blame for the rest of his career.
It’s sad that this is where things have come to for Kyrie. Instead of talking about his game or the many ways in which he is gifted at basketball, his legacy will be tied to his breakups with his former teams.
