The original version of this article ran on Basketball Network and was titled “I needed that”—Kyrie Irving claimed that his teammates in Boston were more gifted than those in Cleveland.
Jaylen Brown, another NBA player, and Kyrie Irving recently co-hosted a stream.
When Irving was a member of the Boston Celtics, they were colleagues during what is generally considered a low point in his career.
But there’s a saying: in every crisis, there’s a silver lining. So, surely there had to be at least one positive memory from that time? JB posed that exact question to his former teammate — and Irving gave an interesting answer.
From Cleveland to Boston
After the 2017 NBA Finals loss against the Golden State Warriors, Irving demanded a trade to become the undisputed leader of his own team.
During six seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the top pick of the 2011 Draft had grown into an elite point guard and one-time NBA champion while watching a steady stream of teammates come and go — some outstanding, others less so.
Among the best were LeBron James, who returned to his hometown team after back-to-back titles with the Miami Heat and Kevin Love, an All-Star who joined before the 2014–15 season from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The rest of the guys were mostly role players and veterans.
However, when Irving finally got his wish and joined the Boston Celtics via trade during the 2017 NBA offseason, things looked much different.
His new team, led by the young, talented duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, along with All-Stars Gordon Hayward and Al Horford — plus future Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart — was stacked with talent from top to bottom.
Every player needs that competitiveness around him to grow and from day one, Irving embraced his new surroundings — especially after what the former Duke Blue Devil had experienced in his early NBA years.
“Bro, to be on the floor with that much talent after being in Cleveland. I needed that change of pace,” said Irving.
“You were challenging me every day and I needed that. I need that for sure,” he told Brown during their casual NBA 2K session.
First excitement, then the fallout
For Irving, signing with the Celtics in July 2017 had an added significance in hindsight — it felt like coming full circle.
Both of his parents had attended Boston University, becoming college sweethearts. Dederick Irving played for BU’s basketball team in the mid-80s, while Elizabeth competed for the Terriers volleyball team during the same period.
“It felt right, you know, just going there,” the now Dallas Maverick reflected.
Interestingly, there’s a contradiction.
The nine-time All-Star once said he had no type of affiliation with Boston before leaving Cleveland, yet his parents’ ties tell a different story.
My excitement to join the Celtics was real at first, as Kyrie expressed multiple times during the webcast.
He was excited to begin this new chapter because he was joining a competitive team and because, more generally, he was carrying on his family’s legacy in Massachusetts. That thrill, however, was short-lived.
In March, just a few months into his rookie season, Irving had a minimally invasive operation to remove a tension wire from his left knee.
This set him back three to six weeks. The front office confirmed their star player’s postseason absence less than two weeks later, with a four- to five-month recuperation timetable.
A two-year period in Boston, marred by misunderstandings and disappointments, began with that injury.
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