Was Kyrie Irving Really ‘Angry’ Right After Winning 2016 NBA Finals?
The next person to figure out Kyrie Irving will be the first.
Irving is an extremely talented player, but this season has only magnified just how unique the Boston Celtics point guard is as a person. Whether it’s flat-earth comments, weird leadership tactics or his involvement in the “Uncle Drew” movie, Irving marches to the beat of his own drum, for better or worse, and it makes him one of the most fascinating individuals in the NBA today.
Which brings us to the most recent episode of ESPN’s “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” podcast, during which Brian Windhorst gave an interesting assessment of Irving’s demeanor.
“Kyrie is a strange dude,” Windhorst said. “They (Celtics) win Game 1 (against the Indiana Pacers). He played OK. He kind of took over in the second half. He runs over to his family after winning Game 1 in the same vein Tiger (Woods) ran over to his family after winning The Masters. He’s celebrating with his dad. I’m all for it.”
“He won The Finals (in 2016 with the Cleveland Cavaliers) and he was angry. Seriously. He 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). This is a strange man. Hell of a player, strange man.”
Irving stuck around with the Cavaliers for one more season after defeating the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals before demanding a trade, at which point Cleveland shipped him to Boston.
While it’s clear Irving wasn’t happy toward the end of his tenure with the Cavs, in large because he wanted to escape LeBron James’ shadow and become the face of a franchise elsewhere, it’s hard to imagine anyone being “angry” immediately after winning a championship.
Then again, as Windhorst noted, Irving is a strange dude. So who knows?