Kyrie Irving wants NBA fans to know that the narrative of him being a locker room cancer is untrue, and the storyline is being spread by “old bitter gentlemen and women” in the media.
Kyrie Irving is one of the best players the NBA has seen over the last decade. There is no denying his unparalleled talent as a scorer and his uncanny gifts as a basketball player. However, his unusual outlook on the sport and how he prefers to be coached has led to a narrative that he can be a problematic player on his teams.
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Despite having a good thing in Cleveland with future Hall-of-Famer Lebron James, he chose to leave and take his talents to Boston. He seemingly wore out his welcome there and joined his pal Kevin Durant in Brooklyn. Irving was then reportedly the source behind Kenny Atkinson being removed as head coach and may have played a similar role with Steve Nash being fired last year.
In February, the 30-year-old became unhappy with negotiations for a long-term extension with the Nets and requested to be traded. When the organization shipped him off to Dallas, it brought to an end a tumultuous three and a half years in New York that included missing games due to his stance on COVID vaccinations and reportedly being the cause of James Harden wanting off the team in less than a year.
Kyrie Irving stats (’22-’23): 27.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 6.6 APG, 1.2 SPG, 41% 3PT
Well, Kyrie Irving is sick and tired of the narrative that has dogged his career in the NBA and took to his Twitch account on Wednesday to air his grievances. In the video rant that can be seen above (via New York Basketball), he complained about the perception that people have about him from a limited amount of time seeing and knowing him.
“You would think that I’m the cancer in the locker room. As if basketball is an individual sport that one person is supposed to take blame for. It’s 15 guys on the team and I’m the one cancer in the room. That’s what it’s portrayed as, that’s what they have fun doing. That’s what these older bitter gentlemen and women keep my name in their mouths every day.”
– Kyrie Irving
Since joining the Dallas Mavericks earlier in February, Kyrie Irving is 5-7 with his new team. The eight-time All-Star is set to be a free agent after this season.