Kyrie Irving was instrumental in helping the Cleveland Cavaliers win the 2016 NBA Championship
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The Cleveland Cavaliers ended a 52-year-old title drought, when they rallied back from a 3-1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors in arguably the greatest Finals in NBA history.
The Warriors ended the 2015-16 NBA season with a 73-9 record, breaking the previously set record by the Chicago Bulls (72-10) in the year 1995-96, and were heavy favorites to win the title.
Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, and the Cavs had other plans though. After going down 3-1 in the series, all the odds were stacked against the Cavaliers who would have to pull off a remarkable comeback never seen before in the history of the league.
The Cavaliers clawed their way back into the series and tied it at 3-3 to force a Game 7 back in the Oracle Arena. With the score tied at 89, Kyrie Irving stepped up and hit a huge three to give the Cavs a lead with just under a minute to go in the game.
Irving’s three-pointer would prove to be the final nail in the coffin for the Warriors as the Cavs did the impossible, becoming the first team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit and win the NBA Championship.
Despite his heroics, Irving was ‘angry’ after winning the NBA Championship
Imagine being on the same team with probably the greatest basketball player of all time and having the opportunity to win an NBA Championship by beating the greatest team ever assembled in league history. These are moments that any player in the league would want to be a part of.
Irving though does not appear to feel the same way. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst spoke about it on his podcast and said, “He won The Finals (in 2016 with the Cavs) and he was angry. He seriously won The Finals, his father and sister came out to hug him and he was angry. He was mad, in that moment. And then, when he got to the locker room, while his teammates were celebrating, he FaceTimed Kobe (Bryant).”
It’s unsure as to what led to this strange behavior from Irving. Maybe it had something to do with the spotlight being on James and Irving not being appreciated enough for his contributions or maybe it was Irving wanting to be traded and being the leader of a team.
After all the drama that unfolded, Irving was traded to the Boston Celtics. It was from here on that Irving’s antics off the court started to garner more attention than his on-court brilliance.
From believing in the flat Earth theory to his ugly departure from the Cavs and the Celtics to missing multiple games due to personal problems and most recently the whole vaccination controversy.
Irving recently spoke about staying with the Brooklyn Nets for the foreseeable future and building something special there with Kevin Durant, but based on history, would you really trust him?
