Mavericks PG Kyrie Irving (2) - Matt Slocum/AP Photo
Just five years ago, Kyrie Irving donned the green and white uniform that his opponents wore in the 2024 NBA Finals. Irving was once a Boston Celtic, and though his time there was short-lived, it was not void of controversy.
Five years removed from his departure, Irving found himself back at TD Garden for the NBA Finals, but donning the Dallas Mavericks blue. His goal was to win a championship in spite of his former team. That did not happen, as his Mavericks lost the series three games to one, including all three games in Irving’s former stomping ground.
Irving recently stated that there was still “a lot of love” between him and Celtics fans, although most Celtics fans seemed to voice their displeasure with Irving rather than love. Kyrie recently went into detail about the tragedies that affected him during his time with the Celtics, something the fans ultimately did not seem to care about.
Kyrie Respects the Journey
Now that Irving once again finds himself on the outside looking in, he praised the Celtics players for winning their first title in the current era. Having won a ring himself before, Irving said that him shaking the hands of the champions was “a sign of respect for their journey.”
“When I was shaking everybody’s hands, that was more of a sign of respect for their journey,” said Irving. “They’ve been through an incredible five-year span of going to Game 7s or losing in the finals. So they know what this bitter feeling feels like being up here and answering questions about what this next year hold. And I think they used everything as motivation.”
The Celtics, indeed, experience the pains of losing up to this point. They lost Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals on their own home court, at the hands of Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors.
They then almost came back down 0-3 against the Miami Heat in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, but an ankle injury to Jayson Tatum derailed those plans as the Celtics went down in Game 7 at home. This time, there was no such horror as they clinched their 18th title at home in Game 5.
Group Effort
There is no doubt that numerous factors must go right in order for a team to win a title. Not only must a team be stocked full of talent, but that talent must be healthy and producing at the right time. Kyrie addressed what he felt went right for the Celtics this year, and what went wrong for his Mavericks.
“They were healthy and they really kept their head down, and weren’t paying attention to any of the personal accolades or individual accolades,” Irving continued. “I think they just came together as a team and we’re okay with each person being great in their role and selflessly putting their best foot forward.”
The Celtics, indeed, chalked up their championship win to a group effort rather than the efforts of individuals. Now that they find themselves at the top of the basketball world once again, the 2024-25 NBA season will be all about how to be better than the Boston Celtics for the other 29 clubs.
