“Girl That Got Away, It’ll Hurt You for the Rest of Your Life”: Kyrie Irving Gives an Astute Analogy on His Time with Kevin Durant and James Harden

Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks just suffered a disappointing 88-107 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. A lot of the loss had to do with the fact that Dallas superstar Luka Doncic was out for most of the game with an injury to his thumb.

After the game, Kyrie Irving was asked about his time in Brooklyn with the Big Three that he formed with Kevin Durant and James Harden. Answering the question, Kyrie said, as seen in this X clip posted by Dallas beat writer Brad Townsend, “You gotta do what is best for you, and it’s unfortunate that me, James and KD are part of the NBA history’s “what ifs” of just having a Superteam, and the expectations on us.”

“We did have a few good seasons and outside of just the things we couldn’t control, with the vaccine stuff and the mandates in New York City….. I don’t look at that aspect of my career as disappointing. It’s kinda like that “girl that got away”…. and it’ll hurt you for the rest of your life,” the Mavs guard added.

Irving gives a thoughtful, and humorous, answer when asked the what-if question about the big breakup in Brooklyn last season. pic.twitter.com/mwmVugaGF2

— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) November 26, 2023

From Kyrie’s statement, it is quite clear that he always wanted things to work out in Brooklyn. But unforeseen circumstances derailed the trio’s plans to compete for an NBA title. The Big Three of Harden, Kyrie and KD in Brooklyn will go down as one of the biggest what-ifs in league history.

However, Kyrie was careful not to let any doubts creep in the minds of his current Mavs teammates including Luka Doncic. His apology to his wife at the end of the video about the ‘girl that got away’ analogy suggests just that.

KD addresses the same issue

Kyrie Irving is known for being a little eccentric at times. Irving is often termed as a ‘visionary’ and a ‘culture changer’. But according to Kevin Durant, the situation that he faced in Brooklyn was nothing like Kyrie described.

Talking about his experience with the Nets, KD said, “[The Nets] refused to get rid of me… I tried, but time ran out. I wasn’t going to miss any games because of this whole thing… It worked out in perfect timing.”

“[The Nets] refused to get rid of me… I tried, but time ran out. I wasn’t going to miss any games because of this whole thing… It worked out in perfect timing.”

Kevin Durant on requesting a trade to the Suns before last season ️

(via @DuaneRankin)pic.twitter.com/CmfVHNrsyF

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 25, 2023

The experiment in Brooklyn was a disaster for the ages. The team first started falling apart when Kevin Durant had to sit out his first season due to an ACL tear. But with KD’s return, nothing much changed as Kyrie was forced to sit out due to the vaccine mandates in New York.

After three years of patiently waiting, Harden was the first to leave the failing system, choosing to take his talents to Philadelphia. Kyrie too would follow suit, as the Cavaliers legend would choose the Mavericks as his final landing spot. With no one left, KD too would sign a deal that would see him join Devin Booker in Phoenix.

As for the current Brooklyn team, they aren’t doing so well. The Nets stand in the 11th spot in the East, with a record of 7 wins and 8 losses. But after trading away three of their biggest superstars, the Nets sure have enough picks and cap space to draft and sign big-name players once again. With its young core of Ben Simmons, Mikal Bridges and Cam Thomas, the Brooklyn Nets sure seem like a team to keep an eye out for during the next three-four years.