It humbled Kyrie Irving to see such a huge crowd giving him an ovation for his first game of the season at Barclays Center, but the man has weird ways of conveying the message.
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The Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, rolled back that mandate last week for athletes and performers. That allowed them to play and perform in the city, the Brooklyn Nets fans might have been the happiest of the decision.
Because of the vaccination mandate in the City and his stubborn decision to not take his doses, Kyrie Irving hadn’t played in Barclays Center since last season. The man has played just 22 games out of Brooklyn’s 75 games in the season because of his stance.
He never lost hope that he will someday play in Brooklyn, but then he did. “Please take my comment seriously when I say I’ve been pinching myself since Wednesday and Thursday because there was a time where I got my hopes really, really high and all the air just got let out.” Irving said on Saturday ahead of their game against the Heat in Miami.
Kyrie Irving gets emotional in his first game back at Barclays Center, Brooklyn
His first night back in action back at home was not as good as the form he has been in of late. He had 16 points and 11 assists shooting 6/22 from the field, in a 9-point loss to the Hornets. But the Nets’ superstar got emotional just for being able to play in his home court in front of his home fans.
“Tonight, my presence out there was just bigger than the basketball game,” Irving said in the post-game interview. “I was just representing a lot of individuals that are out there in a similar situation as me. And now that I can play, I think we should be opened up for everybody.”
The Nets couldn’t get much out of the game and lost it 119-110 to the Hornets and exchanged seeding with them on the Eastern Conference table. But it might not bother anyone in the Nets’ camp much, who for the first in the facility’s history saw an attendance of 18, 166 people.
“I was just trying to ground myself as much as possible today. And just prepare for the warm reception from a lot of supporters of the organization, of me, just the journey thus far. So, I don’t take it for granted what happened tonight; it was historic. I’m grateful I got a chance to be out there with my brothers and just leave it all out there.” Irving finished.
With such an attendance, he must have got a hint that people approve of whatever he stands for. But the fans might just have been there to see the magic on the court and nothing more. We will never know that for a fact, but whatever makes Kai happy.
