Irving expressed regret for some of his previous reactions to the fan base that has been hostile to him.
DALLAS — As Kyrie Irving prepared for his third playoff series against the Boston Celtics since leaving Boston, this time in the NBA Finals, the 13-year superstar veteran reflected fondly on his brief time with the franchise and expressed regret for some of his previous reactions to the passionate fanbase that has been hostile to him.
Irving, who is unanimously considered by his Dallas Mavericks teammates to be the team’s vocal leader, played two seasons for the Celtics before leaving in free agency to join his friend Kevin Durant with the Brooklyn Nets during the 2019 offseason. .
Irving’s Nets faced the Celtics twice in the playoffs, eliminating Boston in five games in the first round of 2021 and being swept in the first round of 2022, which ended up being his last postseason appearance with Brooklyn. Some of the most memorable moments from those series were the interactions between angry Celtics fans and Irving, such as when a fan was arrested for throwing a water bottle at him after Brooklyn’s Game 4 win in 2021 and when Irving received fined $50,000 for giving fans the middle finger during the Nets’ Game 1 loss in 2022.
“I think I’m better now at solidifying emotions or being aware of what it’s going to be like,” Irving said after the Mavericks’ practice Monday. “We call it animosity, we call it hatred, we call it ‘It’s going to be hell in Boston.’ I mean, there are real, living circumstances in the world that are bigger than basketball, the competitive side of things and the response to those questions.
“But I will say that the last time in Boston, I don’t think it was the best, not in this regular season, but when we played in the playoffs and everyone saw me throw the birds and lose the s– kinda, that wasn’t a great reflection of who I am and how I like to compete at a high level. It was not a great reflection on my part to the next generation about what it means to control your emotions in that type of environment, no matter what people yell at you.
“I’m made for these moments, to be able to handle circumstances like that, and I’ve been able to grow since then. So of course it’s going to be a hectic environment, but I’m looking forward to it and I see it as a healthy relationship that I have with the fans. I almost think of ‘Gladiator,’ just winning over the crowd. It’s nice to hear TD Garden be quiet when they still respect great basketball.”
Irving was an All-Star in his two seasons with the Celtics, and came to Boston after asking to be traded by the Cleveland Cavaliers following three consecutive Finals appearances, highlighted by winning the 2016 championship.
An injury sidelined Irving for the entire postseason in 2018, when rookie Jayson Tatum and sophomore Jaylen Brown led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference finals. Irving’s impending free agency and lack of a long-term commitment to Boston loomed over the franchise the following season, when the Celtics were eliminated by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round.
Irving admitted that he has received some “fair criticism” due to his short tenure in Boston, considering his status as one of the league’s best players, but felt that “a little more grace could have been extended my way, especially that I was dealing with during that time as a human being.”
“It was just a chapter of my life that I was able to enjoy for the most part,” Irving said of his time with the Celtics. “We had a great opportunity to do some special things, but it was cut short, simply for personal reasons on my part. One thing I remember from my time in Boston: I’ve said it in recent years: but somehow they throw it under the carpet, but the biggest thing I learned from Boston was just being able to manage not just my emotions or just what happens on a day-to-day basis of being a team leader or being one of the leaders and having young people around you that have own goals, but you have to learn to put the big picture first.
Irving added that watching Tatum and Brown become one of the league’s elite star duos has made him “nothing short of proud,” adding that he tried to share as much advice and wisdom with the tandem as he could during his time as Teammates. He said he has continued to have brotherly relations with Tatum and Brown in the years since, but that they have not communicated since the Celtics and Mavericks made their Finals bids.
“This basketball thing is going to be competitive,” Irving said. “No matter what happens, we will attack each other. But knowing them as human beings, they are really special people along with other people that I had the opportunity to meet in the Boston organization.”
Speaking after Boston’s practice on Saturday, Tatum (who said he still speaks with Irving occasionally during the season) noted that he has “a lot of good memories” of playing alongside Irving during the first two seasons of his career.
“Yes, obviously there were some ups and downs, but I think, for me, being a first- or second-year player, being around a superstar, essentially, every day and seeing how to navigate that space, and then obviously on the court “He’s one of the most talented guys I’ve ever seen,” Tatum said. “It seems like a long time ago, but I have very fond memories of having Kai as a teammate.”
And while Tatum gave credit to the way the Mavericks and Irving came together, calling it a “great combination,” he said he also learned a lot from the 2018-19 season, Irving’s second and last in Boston, a tumultuous campaign for the Celtics. That started with them being talked about as the heirs of the Eastern Conference after LeBron James left for the Los Angeles Lakers the previous summer, but ended with them losing to the Bucks in five games in the Eastern semifinals.
“I learned that being on such a talented team, it’s not just the talent that will take you to the top,” Tatum said of his experiences that season. “You have to have guys that are willing to sacrifice, guys that are willing to do other things for the team to have a chance.
“It wasn’t Kyrie’s doing, it was all of us. We all participated in why that season wasn’t a success and we all learned from it. We all moved on. Some of us stayed here, some left. And I’ve done great things since that season, so I look at it as a learning experience from my second year.”
Irving understands that his history with the Celtics will be a prominent storyline throughout the Finals. He said he has been “bombarded” with questions about Boston since his decision to leave for Brooklyn and that he won’t let the past “paralyze” him.
“Regardless of the attention being paid to what my situation will be like, I have a group to lead that will look to me for a voice of peace and to be able to control what I can control and also help.” get over it,” said Irving, who has averaged 22.8 points and 5.2 assists per game this postseason while leading the Finals alongside Luka Doncic.
“So I’ll take the brunt of it, all the yelling and stuff like that and all the comments, but I’ve been able to grow since then and recognize that I can handle things better, especially when I want to put most of my energy into playing well. No. I can just do that with the fans, although it can be fun sometimes, but it’s a waste of energy and it’s also a waste of my talent trying to answer questions from the past that people have.
“People are going to bring out the record and all the bonus material. Again, there are days, there’s downtime in between, so you see the media pundits doing the normal thing. It’s great. But I’m looking forward to it.” “Let’s face the challenge on the court against the Boston Celtics and be able to lead my boys.”
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.
