Seven years ago, in 2013, Kyrie Irving was playing his third season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, his first team in the NBA. Irving was seen as the new hope of the team after LeBron James left the franchise in 2010 to join the Miami Heat.
Of course, fans in Cleveland were still hurt that LeBron left them, but Kyrie made them think things could be different. However, they still had doubts about the commitment that anybody could have with the team. Ahead of the 2013/12 season, Kyrie was in a full room of kids when one of them asked him if he was going to leave the Cavs.
“Are you going to leave us like LeBron left us?” one kid asked.
“It’s a great question,” Kyrie replied. “No, I won’t leave. I won’t leave. How can I leave you guys?”
Kyrie spent the six first years of his career with the Cavs before he was traded to the Boston Celtics in 2017. After LeBron returned to the Cavs in 2014, Irving’s relationship with LeBron was rocky and some people are convinced that was the main reason why he asked to be traded from the Cavs.
He didn’t have the best tenure in Boston, either, as he received a lot of criticism for the way he tried to lead the team. After two seasons with the Celtics, he left the last offseason to join the Brooklyn Nets in free agency.
Now Kyrie is in his third team in the league, expected to do big things alongside Kevin Durant, another player with a strong personality. We’re yet to see these two sharing touches at the Barclays Centers but the expectations are high for them.
