Who is Kyrie Irving‘s father? Exploring shocking hardships faced by the father & son before 8x All-Star made it to NBA
Over the past few years, Kyrie Irving has been known to be a little outlandish off the basketball court. That being said, some insight into his past might reveal why he's become that way.
For those that don't know, Kyrie Irving's father was also a stellar basketball player. Drederick Irving had a stellar college career at Boston University and then went on to play professionally in Australia. After college, he got married and started a family with his wife, Elizabeth Irving.
While playing overseas in Australia, Drederick began teaching Kyrie basketball. Unfortunately, their family life would take a turn for the worse.
During a recent interview, Bruce Fine touched on some rough patches early on in Kyrie's life. One of them being his mother falling ill and passing away when he was just 10 years old.
As his lone parent, Drederick began doing everything he could to put his son in the best position. He halted his professional career to bring Kyrie back to the States to get him into top-tier basketball programs.
Thanks to his sacrifice, Drederick was able to get his son on the path to achieving what he couldn't and making the NBA.
"He ends up living the dream that his father couldn't."
"So if you want to know why Kyrie has some issues personally, unless you know what it's like to lose your mother overnight at 10 years old, then I don't know how you can have a conversation about that."
Kyrie Irving pays homage to his father on the basketball court
Even though he's pulled some outlandish stunts, Kyrie Irving does not take his spot in the NBA for granted. More importantly, he's never forgotten what his father did for him to make this dream a reality.
Since Drederick Irving was never able to make the league, his son makes sure to honor him in his own way. Primarily with his choice of jersey numbers.
Throughout his career, Kyrie has worn the number two for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dallas Mavericks, and the number 11 for the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets. This is all because of his father.
While playing at Boston University, Drederick wore the number 11. Kyrie has always worn this number when he can, and improvised when he couldn't. Since 11 was getting ready to be retired by the Cavs when he got there, he wore two because 1+1=2.