“I wanted to congratulate my brothers in that Celtics locker room”: Kyrie Irving breaks his silence on accusations of lacking interest and competitiveness

Arjun Julka | 27/04/2022
"I wanted to congratulate my brothers in that Celtics locker room": Kyrie Irving breaks his silence on accusations of lacking interest and competitiveness

Kyrie Irving responds to those criticizing him for congratulating the Celtics after a 4-0 sweep. 

It’s no secret that Kyrie Irving is not one to play according to the traditional rulebook. The former champion is known to do things his way, earning him flak on most occasions. Irving has often been accused of unprofessionalism and being selfish.

Nevertheless, Irving does things his way and gets paid a fortune. His recent anti-vaccination stance took things to a whole new level. The 30-year-old got the entire Nets organization to its feet, agreeing on his part-time participation. Though the mandate was flawed, Irving’s behavior was never discouraged.

The mandate was overturned towards the last leg of the season, allowing Irving to play home games. Unfortunately, it was too late, but the Nets managed to get past the Cavaliers in the play-in tournament. However, the sins of the past would come to haunt them.

Also read: “Brooklyn Nets are 1st preseason favorite to not win a postseason game since 1985”: How Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving led team turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments of all-time

The Nets were swept 4-0 by Irving’s former team Boston Celtics, with Uncle Drew having one of his worst playoffs performances. Irving hugging his former teammates post the sweep created an outrage, with critics calling him disinterested and non-competitive.

Kyrie Irving hits back at those questioning his drive towards the game of basketball.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that KD and Kai had it coming, having piled up umpteen controversies during the season. The Nets had an embarrassing first round-exit, who at one time were championship favorites. It will be hard to find a season as controversial as the Nets had.

While Irving and KD would cover up for their dissent on the hardwood, this certainly wasn’t the case this time. Kai averaged a mediocre 21.3 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 5.3 APG. However, things got controversial with Irving congratulating his former Celtics teammates post getting swept.

Surprisingly, this is the same Irving who had issues with his Celtics teammates and the management. Not to forget him stomping on the iconic logo or burning sage at the TD Garden.

With many on social media questioning his competitiveness, Irving finally broke his silence on the matter, tweeting the following.

“We didn’t get the result we wanted, but I wanted to congratulate my brothers in that Celtics locker room. They earned the series Win and I wish them well as they advance. Nothing but love competing against them.”

Unfortunately, Irving’s image in the media precedes him as there was nothing said about KD, who engaged in similar sportsmanship.

Also read: ‘When the Nets caved to Kyrie Irving, Steve Nash had no credibility’: Skip Bayless demands sacking of Nash after Kevin Durant and co. bow out of playoffs

 

Post Edited By: Arjun Julka
2022 NBA Playoffs boston celtics Brooklyn Nets kyrie irving

About the author

Arjun Julka

Arjun Julka is a NBA author at The SportsRush. Basketball isn’t just a sport for this 26-year-old, who hails from Mumbai. He began watching the sport after stumbling upon a court in his society, helping him identify an undiscovered passion for the game of hoops. Now an ardent fan, Arjun supports Stephen Curry and the Warriors but also enjoys watching Giannis Antetokounmpo own the paint. When it comes to the GOAT debate, the TSR author feels LeBron James is yet to receive a lot of his due but cannot deny marveling at Michael Jordan’s resume.

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