Even with possibly the greatest highlight reel of crossovers, ankle breakers and shifty finishes, the most iconic moment of Kyrie Irving’s career remains his game-winner from the 2016 NBA Finals.
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LeBron James might have taken home the Finals MVP trophy but it was Kyrie who secured the series for the Cavs with his three-pointer over Stephen Curry. And it turns out, the pressure of that moment, and of breaking Cleveland’s decades-long championship drought, weighed heavy on Irving’s mind.
“It’s one of those trilogy moments where we’re going against the top of the top in the world…This moment is what all of the hard work in the backyard amounts to,” Irving shared during his appearance on Kai Cenat’s stream. He admitted, “I was nervous as s**t, man.”
Everything in a professional basketball player’s career culminates to moments like these. Personal accolades, rivalries, mentors, Irving had seen it all in his then-young career. But taking the championship-deciding shot? Nothing could compare to those stakes.
“Boss, feel my palms. Cold. That’s how I be on the court sometimes. Just nervous,” the eight-time All-Star added.
Kyrie discussing his Game 7 final shot on Kai’s Mafiathon 🔥 https://t.co/jKcypPr8lY
— ²³𝙻𝚎𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚜🏀☄️🌎💞 (@BronGotGame) November 29, 2024
Thankfully, his nerves didn’t get to him on the biggest night of his career. With 55 seconds on the clock, Irving drained a three-pointer with Curry’s outstretched hand in his face, sealing the win for the Cavaliers and bringing Cleveland their first championship in 52 years.
Irving felt lost after reaching the pinnacle
Even before that shot, Irving had been great for many years already. Despite playing in just 11 games for Duke, he went 1st overall in the 2011 NBA Draft and eventually won the Rookie of the Year award. The next three seasons saw him pick up consecutive All-Star selections and the All-Star Game MVP in 2014.
He knew how it felt to be one of the greatest players in the game. But after achieving the ultimate goal of lifting the Larry O’Brien, Irving admitted to feeling lost.
“It was like climbing up one of the tallest mountains in the world, winning a championship. And when I got up there, and you realize that all the accolades and all the achievements, yeah, it feels good, it feels great to add that to the career. But I felt empty,” he revealed in 2017.
His confusion wasn’t just limited to the basketball court as Irving felt lost as a person. He had spent so much of his life looking forward to this moment that lifting the NBA championship in 2016 left him feeling aimless. The only way Kyrie could move forward was by experiencing new things, he added.
That pursuit led him to demanding a trade, one season after winning the championship alongside LeBron James. His stint in Boston wouldn’t bring him back to the mountaintop, but it clearly helped him recalibrate his career and set new goals for himself.
