You’d think Celtics fans had a front-row seat to a Greek tragedy every time Kyrie Irving touches the ball in the 2024 NBA Finals. Seriously, it’s like witnessing a rollercoaster of emotions with every dribble.
Sure, it might seem like eons ago, but let’s not forget, it’s been a mere five seasons since Irving graced Boston’s parquet floors.
The whole saga kicked off in 2017 with a blockbuster trade that saw Isaiah Thomas, a beloved figure in Celtics lore, shipped off to the Cavaliers in exchange for the enigmatic Irving. It was supposed to be the move that propelled the Celtics to championship glory, with Irving as the linchpin of a burgeoning super team. But alas, basketball, much like life, rarely goes according to script.
Injuries, drama, and a dash of off-court antics quickly turned the Celtics’ dream into a nightmare. Two seasons passed, marked by tantalizing glimpses of potential squandered in a sea of missed opportunities.
Then came the fateful decision: Irving, amidst whispers of broken promises and shattered dreams, bid adieu to Boston in free agency. The parting left a bitter taste in the mouths of Celtics faithful, who had dared to hope for so much more.
So what led to the unraveling of this once-promising union? Well, grab some popcorn, because it’s a tale as dramatic as any Shakespearean tragedy.
Why did Kyrie Irving leave the Celtics?
Injuries hit the Celtics like a wrecking ball during Irving’s inaugural season in Beantown. The heart-wrenching saga began with All-Star forward Gordon Hayward’s catastrophic leg injury in the very first game. Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, Irving himself went under the knife for a season-ending knee surgery barely a week before the playoffs.
Yet, against all odds, the Celtics battled their way to Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals, sans their two marquee players. It was a testament to the emerging talents of rookies like Jayson Tatum and sophomore standout Jaylen Brown, who began to showcase glimpses of their future stardom. But with newfound promise came a dilemma: too many mouths to feed on the scoring front, leading to a locker room rife with confusion.
As Irving entered the final year of his contract in the 2018-19 season, anticipation hung thick in the air. Despite opting against an early extension, he serenaded the TD Garden faithful with promises of loyalty during a preseason love-in.
“If you guys will have me back, I plan on re-signing here,” Irving proclaimed to the adoring crowd, setting hopes soaring among Celtics die-hards.
He even went as far as envisioning his jersey hanging from the rafters, pledging allegiance to the city in a media tête-à-tête the next day. But alas, the season took an unforeseen turn, akin to a rollercoaster careening off its tracks.
Irving’s patience wore thin like an old sweater as frustrations mounted. He bemoaned the lack of veteran presence on the roster after a rocky start to the season, before unleashing a pointed tirade at the younger players in a memorable postgame presser.
By February, any semblance of a love affair with Boston had evaporated faster than snow in July. “I’m going to do what’s best for my career,” declared Irving, the once-sainted star now unapologetically prioritizing personal ambition over team loyalty.
With a lackluster playoff performance culminating in a premature exit, the writing on the wall glowed with neon certainty: Irving’s tenure in Boston was as good as over. He later attributed his tumultuous season to off-court distractions, including a family tragedy.
But forgiveness from Celtics fans? That seems about as likely as a snowball fight in July. The wounds of broken promises and dashed hopes run deep in the veins of Boston faithful, a stark reminder that in the NBA, loyalty can be as fleeting as a summer breeze.
Kyrie Irving Celtics stats
| Year | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | TOV | PPG |
| 2017-18 | 60 | 32.2 | 49.1 | 40.8 | 88.9 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 24.4 |
| 2018-19 | 67 | 33.0 | 48.7 | 40.1 | 87.3 | 5.0 | 6.9 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 23.8 |
| Year | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | TOV | PPG |
| 2019 | 9 | 36.7 | 38.5 | 31.0 | 90.0 | 4.3 | 7.0 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 21.3 |
Kyrie Irving Nets contract
Well, it didn’t take a hoops aficionado to see that Irving and the Celtics were about as compatible as oil and water after the 2019 NBA Playoffs.
In a move that surprised approximately zero people, the mercurial guard wasted no time in backtracking on his earlier pledges of eternal devotion to Boston. As soon as the free agency floodgates swung open, Irving swiftly inked a lucrative four-year, $141 million deal with the Brooklyn Nets, linking up with his buddy Kevin Durant to form a formidable dynamic duo.
The seismic shift in the NBA landscape was encapsulated in a single tweet from the oracle of basketball news himself, Adrian Wojnarowski, sending shockwaves through the league.
Irving’s tenure with the Nets lasted a respectable three and a half seasons before a change of scenery beckoned. In a deadline day stunner in 2023, he found himself donning the blue and white of the Mavericks, embarking on a new chapter in his enigmatic career. And so, the saga of Kyrie Irving continued, a tale as unpredictable and compelling as any in the annals of hoops lore.
