“Everybody’s Trying to Go Viral”: Kyrie Irving Sheds Light on Heated Interaction with Thunder Fan in Game 1

The Dallas Mavericks avenged their Game 1 loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder and registered a 9-point victory in the second contest. However, their brilliant comeback was somewhat marred by some heated fan interactions. In one of the instances, following a turnover by Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous Alexander, a Thunder fan threw the ball away from Luka Doncic after the referees had awarded the possession to the Mavericks.

This action infuriated Kyrie Irving, who went face-to–face with the fan after the incident. He seemed to reprimand him by shouting repeatedly, “What the fu** are you doing!”

The 32-year-old addressed this incident during the post-game press conference and claimed that the fan only wanted his short span of fame. He lamented that such actions are gaining in popularity to farm engagement on social media. The Mavericks guard clarified that he was confronting the fan to make sure that he faced the consequences of disorderly conduct with his teammate.

“You’re trying to distinguish yourself out here. You’re trying to get on Twitter to stay active. Like, I know, come on, that’s our generation that we’re in. Everybody’s trying to go viral when they’re at NBA games, instead of focusing on the players and the task at hand. So, when you do that to my teammate, of course, I’m going to stand up,” Kyrie Irving was quoted saying, per Dallas beat reporter Grant Afseth.

The guard warned Thunder fans about his squad’s tendency to extinguish the opposing crowd’s energy through their dominant play. Since they overcame the Clippers in a tough series, the Mavericks have gained more confidence. Therefore, heckling the Mavs’ players can backfire for the home team.

“We’re at OKC, we understand that we lost last game, they have the advantage, but we know how to quiet a crowd and us continuing to be physical, continuing to score baskets, and then at the end of the game in the fourth quarter, we can heckle them back,” Irving re-iterated. The Mavs proved just that at Paycom center yesterday night.

Kyrie Irving on courtside fan interactions in OKC: "Yeah the fans threw the ball away from Luka, and then he looked like, like— where I'm from, when somebody does that, that's like almost it's like, and he didn't even look at Luka eye to eye, and Luka was very nonchalant about…

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) May 10, 2024

Irving has a history of confronting hecklers and shutting them off completely. In 2022, during Game 1 between the Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets, the notorious Celtics fans were hurling profanities at their former player. After nailing a tough buzzer-beating shot, the then-Nets guard showed his middle finger to the crowd.

Thus, the veteran guard isn’t going to just sit back and tolerate whatever the fans are throwing at him. He is not afraid of snapping back at them, which aligns with his outspoken personality.