Kyrie Irving has always been a hard one to understand. His string of bizarre behavior (that goes all the way back to Cleveland) is a story that usually ends with people scratching their heads.
Back in 2017, despite being in a winning situation on the team that drafted him, Kyrie suddenly demanded a trade over the summer and was subsequently traded to Boston. Once there, he sold out his new teammates to the media, blamed others for their struggles, and was known for having dramatic “mood swings” that effected the locker room culture.
After going back on his word to re-sign with the team, he signed with the Nets for a fresh start and clean slate in a franchise that desperately needed some star power. It didn’t take long at all for things to weird there, either.
As early as October, they reported “concerning” behavior by the All-Star guard.
“When Irving lapses into these funks, he often shuts down, unwilling to communicate with the coaching staff, front office and sometimes, even his teammates. Nets team sources say one such episode occurred during Brooklyn’s trip to China, leaving everyone scratching their heads as to what precipitated it. There’s hope that Durant will be able to coax his friend into a better frame of mind.”
Those incidents aren’t including some of his more famous stunts — like calling the earth flat and proposing his own theories about famous assassinations.
His most recent activity, however, is drawing more questions than ever. He changed his name on there to “Kyrie Eleison” and also changed his bio to say “κύριε/κύριος I Am God’s Son, I am Hela of Standing Rock Sioux Tribe”
Needless to say, people have been trying to figure out what it means. And while it certainly looks strange, it’s actually not very weird at all.
The words derive from a Biblical phrase and seems to be a Septuagint translation of the Greek words “חָנֵּנִי יְהוָה” found in the book of Psalms. Kyrie is a devout Christian and has not made his faith a secret. He has been linked to Carl Lentz, the celebrity pastor at the Hillsong church in New York City.
So much so, in fact, that Irving went to Lentz for advice on his 2017 decision to leave the Cavaliers.
(via TMZ)
“Church sources tell us Kyrie, who’s been an active member for a long time, met with Lentz earlier this month about his desires to step out of LeBron James’ shadow. We’re told Lentz didn’t tell Kyrie to ‘leave Cleveland’ — instead he listened to Kyrie’s concerns, and encouraged him to make the decision he felt was best.”
That pretty much sums up what’s going on here. It’s no conspiracy and Kyrie is not losing his mind. He just decided to express his faith, on Instagram, in a rather unique and obscure way.
