This Thursday the NBA finals will begin, facing the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics. One of the figures who will define the most important basketball championship in the world is Kyrie Irving, who adapted very well to the Texan team and formed an intractable duo with Luka Doncic. But in the past the 32-year-old point guard was on everyone’s lips on many occasions, since he publicly expressed himself as an anti-vaccine and flat-earther. In addition, he had anti-Semitic acts that sparked controversy. I know his story.
Uncle Drew’s career went from high to low. Drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2011 – the same as Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler and Klay Thompson – he was chosen as Rookie of the Year, averaging 18.5 points and 5.4 assists. After several seasons of consolidation in the league, he won his first ring in 2016 with LeBron James as a teammate, after coming back from 1-3 in the finals against the Golden State Warriors who had made a historical record of 72 victories during the regular phase. . He was in charge of scoring the key triple to seal the seventh game and give the franchise from the eastern United States the first ring.
In 2017 he decided to leave for Boston to be the star of a historic NBA institution. However, not everything went as planned. The managers’ idea was for Kyrie to guide two of the most promising players of the time: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. But injuries in the first season and the death of his grandfather – a role model for him – at the beginning of the second, caused a sharp drop in the point guard’s level. In fact, he himself admitted that he “failed those guys.” Now he will have to face many of them in the decisive instance.
His most scandalous stage was with the Brooklyn Nets. He had arrived at the New York team to form a Big Three with James Harden and Kevin Durant, but the results were not as expected. In addition to being a sporting failure, Irving was very controversial off the court. During the Covid-19 pandemic he refused to be vaccinated, arguing that “mandatory vaccination is one of the greatest violations of human rights in history.” This inflexible stance caused him to be removed from the team, since he did not comply with New York health regulations. “Kyrie has made a personal decision and we respect his right to do so. Currently, that decision limits his ability to be a full-time member of the team,” the Nets argued.
Furthermore, he had previously been in the eye of the storm after openly declaring himself a flat earther in several interviews. The straw that broke the camel’s back and ended up driving him away from Brooklyn was when he posted a tweet with the link to see “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,” a film accused of being anti-Semitic. Although he was reluctant at first, he ended up apologizing “To all the Jewish families and communities that are hurt and affected by its publication.” Likewise, it was too late: he was suspended by the franchise and Nike, the company that sponsored him, interrupted a million-dollar contract with him. Finally, in February 2023 he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks.
When many considered his career over, Kyrie reconnected with himself. He did so through a journey alongside his ancestors from Native American tribes, specifically the Standing Rock tribe, where he shared a ceremony with more than a thousand “brothers” and was baptized “Helá”, which means “little mountain.” .
The first months in Dallas were ones of adaptation. She met his new colleagues, joined the group and everything began to flow naturally. So much so, that he formed a great duo with Luka Doncic, one of the great stars of today. This year they were intractable, especially in the postseason, where they defeated three teams that achieved more than 50 victories during the regular season. Now Irving must return to TD Garden, a historic venue that does not bring him good memories, even though he does not classify his experience in Boston as “bad.” Can one of the most skilled point guards of this century put the ring back on?
2024-06-06 10:56:25
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