Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving finds himself in the headlines this offseason, but it’s not for a reason any of us could have foreseen a week ago. Quite a few members of the title-winning 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers are currently having a reunion over in Europe, but Irving decided against making the trip.
With some of his former teammates calling him out, Irving finally broke his silence on Instagram on Friday night.
“All for one. One for All. WE completed the mission together as brothers, and that’s all that matters to me.”
View this post on Instagram
That’s a loud and clear message. Irving is proud of what they accomplished as brothers back then, overturning a 3-1 deficit against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, but he doesn’t feel compelled to be at the reunion. People have definitely been making a mountain out of a molehill with this.
All this drama began when pictures and videos of the reunion started being shared online. You could see LeBron James, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye, and Tristan Thompson in them, but no Irving. With fans asking why the nine-time All-Star wasn’t there, Smith revealed he had been invited, but ghosted them.
NBA insider Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson then claimed Irving hadn’t ghosted his former Cavaliers teammates. Robinson revealed the 34-year-old had prior commitments that prevented him from making the trip.
Irving was at the NBPA Top 100 Camp in South Carolina from June 8 to June 12 and then visited student-athletes at Teaneck High School and West Orange High School in Northern New Jersey. Robinson also mentioned that Smith’s comment wasn’t serious and he was just playfully ribbing his former teammate. That might not be the case, though.
Smith and Jefferson dismissed Irving’s reasons for skipping the reunion. The former claimed the camp wasn’t on the same day, while the latter pointed out that two others were joining the group later.
This reunion had begun in the United Kingdom, and Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova were to join the group once they moved to Saint-Tropez. Shumpert and Dellavedova have since linked up with them.
View this post on Instagram
The point Jefferson was making, of course, is that Irving could have joined them late as well. He simply chose not to.
A story like this usually wouldn’t have legs, but the way Irving left the Cavaliers in 2017 is what gives it legs. He wasn’t exactly on the best of terms with his teammates back then and ultimately asked out. It hadn’t seemed like there were any issues in recent years, but who knows.
We had expected trade rumors to be the only reason why Irving, who missed the entire 2025-26 season with a torn ACL, would make headlines this summer, but we got all this as well. As for a potential move, the Mavericks reportedly do not plan on trading him. Interested teams have been told that they want to keep Irving next to Cooper Flagg. He doesn’t fit Flagg’s timeline, though, so expect rumors to keep flying around.
