Grateful that I have history there": Kyrie Irving thankful to Boston for metamorphosis as a bonafide NBA star
As the Dallas Mavericks prepare for Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals, much of the storyline is focused on Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics. Having played with the franchise back in 2017 to 2019, many basketball fans are anticipating how the Boston crowd will receive the former NBA champion.
The relationship between the Celtics and Irving hit a hard patch before their untimely divorce in 2019. Since then, the eight-time NBA All-Star bounced around from the Brooklyn Nets to the Mavs and now back to the NBA Finals since his days with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With Game 1 just around the corner, Kyrie Irving reflected on how he sees the silver lining of his time with the Celtics leading to his current life:
"I put it in a very simple perspective now. I would not be here without Boston, literally and figuratively, just because without me going through what I went through here, I would not be who I am today," Irving said.
Celtics fans have been mocking Irving whenever they get the chance, especially when he was part of the Nets organization when he got caught stepping on the famous leprechaun logo at mid-court after a playoff win.
Nonetheless, Irving learned to shut down the noise and prefers to see his time with the Celtics as a way to mold himself to become a better person. He continued:
"I'm grateful that I have history here. Some of it is up and down but I've accepted it," Irving said. "That is the most beautiful part of this journey is just accepting what has happened, what you've gone through, who I was, forgiven that person, forgiven myself more or less."
Kyrie Irving says he has no one to blame but himself
Looking back at the roster that consisted of the Boston Celtics in 2017, the team had a young Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who were just navigating through the league. Both were expected to learn from Kyrie Irving who would teach them how to win basketball games and mold them to become better players.
However, that did not happen, and Irving and the two Boston Celtics stars have since parted ways. Looking back, the former NBA Rookie of the Year learned to accept fate and embraced the moment as a significant factor in his personal growth:
"I've done my best not to play the blame game," Irving said. "It is easy to blame others and blame what is going on outside of you but once you go inside and figure out who you are, that is pretty easy to navigate, so I'm grateful for what I have to experience here from the staff, my teammates and the fans too. Now as an opponent I look forward to put my best foot forward."
Kyrie Irving enters his fourth NBA Finals experience and his first with the Dallas Mavericks. The 31-year-old guard has averaged 28.8 points, 5.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 17 playoff games so far, being the second-leading scorer for Dallas behind Luka Doncic.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals takes place at TD Garden on Thursday.