The Kyrie Irving saga is about to come to a close for the time being, with the Brooklyn Nets man’s return date reportedly set. Irving hasn’t played since the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks that saw the Nets lose in a very tight 7-game series.
After Irving chose to remain unvaccinated against COVID-19, he began the 2021-22 season away from the team as he wouldn’t be allowed to participate in any home games for the Nets. The team chose to not enlist Irving’s services if it meant he could only play half their games.
However, after the entire league started suffering from positive cases last month, the Nets allowed Kyrie to return to practice on December 17th with the idea that he would feature in road games for the franchise.
Now, Shams Charania has reported that Irving will return and make his season debut when the Nets face the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. Irving had entered healthy and safety protocols after returning to training but has since cleared them and is eligible to play games on the road.
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is expected to make his season debut Wednesday on the road against the Indiana Pacers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. After missing the Nets’ first 35 games of the season, Irving has targeted Wednesday for his return.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 3, 2022
Kyrie will have missed the first 35 games of the season, considering that he will be unable to feature when the Nets take on Memphis at the Barclays Center on Monday. Brooklyn has gone on a 23-11 run in that time, currently holding the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference before Irving’s involvement.
If Durant and Harden both also feature in that game, the Nets will have their Big 3 back together for the first time this season, a truly scary prospect for the rest of the league. Last year during the regular season, Irving averaged 26.9 points to go along with 6 assists. The stage is set for the former All-Star to make his return to the league but it remains to be seen how he will fare after what has been nearly a 6-month long absence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-kfg43PZyY
