Kyrie Irving recently lived a questionable moment with some Cleveland Cavaliers fans trying to get under his skin. The Brooklyn Nets superstar returned to the city Monday night, dropping 27 points on his first team in the league.
That wasn’t enough for the Nets, who succumbed to the Cavs 114-107. Besides the loss, Kyrie had to deal with some fans heckling him. The player had a big comeback, telling them that he won a championship for the Cavaliers and they were still ungrateful.
The fan replied by saying it was only one, dismissing how hard it is to win an NBA champion, especially against the 2016 Golden State Warriors. Kyrie found support in many people around the league, including Stephen A. Smith, who has become one of Irving’s biggest detractors.
In the wake of the altercation, the ESPN analyst reacted to the interaction between player and fan, defending Kyrie and reminding people how important he was during the 2016 NBA Finals.
I completely side with KYRIE on this one. Sure, [LeBron James] has to get the most credit, but KYRIE avg 27 in that Finals and hit the dagger to secure the title. Fair is Fair. [The Cavaliers] don’t win title without KYRIE. Cleveland — of all places — should appreciate him most of all.
I completely side with KYRIE on this one. Sure, @KingJames has to get the most credit, but KYRIE avg 27 in that finals and hit the dagger to secure the title. Fair is Fair. @cavs don’t win title w/o KYRIE. Cleveland — of all places — should appreciate him most of all. https://t.co/m181yWm750
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) January 19, 2022
LeBron was indeed on a mission during that series, but he didn’t win the title by himself. Kyrie was crucial for that title, as he made the 3-point dagger on Stephen Curry to secure the victory in Game 7 of the series. He was incredibly helpful for LeBron, showing the things he couldn’t in the prior Finals, where he went down with an injury.
Even though he left on bad terms, nobody can deny Kyrie’s contributions to the Cavaliers. He’s a big figure in team history and the opinion of a couple won’t change anything he did for the organization.
