Kyrie Irving is not a well-known or loved person in Boston sports history.
People in New England who follow professional sports teams usually think of him with Peyton Manning, Bill Laimbeer, David Price, and Alex Rodriguez when they think of players that fans hate.
In a strange twist, it was recently revealed that Irving once thought about doing something very similar to what A-Rod did.
If Irving had gone through with it, the Dallas Mavericks point guard would have become the most hated player in Boston sports history.
Kyrie Said He Wanted To Swing At Pritchard
In a recent social media livestream hosted by Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, Irving admitted that he considered throwing a punch at Payton Pritchard after the guard’s iconic half-court buzzer beater before halftime in Game 5 of the 2024 NBA Finals.
It was Pritchard’s second half-court buzzer beater of the series, with the first coming at the end of the third quarter in Game 2. Boston won the series, 4-1, to claim their record 18th NBA championship.
The A-Rod vs. Kyrie Comparison
It’s hard to imagine the mayhem that would’ve ensued if Irving had swung at Pritchard, and the resulting suspensions — likely spanning into the following season — and their potential impacts. Though for its part, the Celtics took care of business in that contest with a 106-88 series-clinching victory.
While Irving still has his share of allies in Green and White, notably Brown and fellow former Duke Blue Devil Jason Tatum, it’s safe to assume all love would be lost following a blow to a teammate under those circumstances. Especially in the NBA Finals.
Imagine that Jason Varitek, who is still wearing his catcher’s mask, walks A-Rod to first base before punches are thrown and the benches are cleared.
Most likely, Big Al Horford would play Varitek in this new version of Freaky Friday! with the Celtics and the Mavericks.
Some fans love the A-Rod example because three months after he hit the ball out of Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo’s glove in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS, he was even more hated—oh, karma.
Boston Already Had Bad Blood For Kyrie
Thankfully, though, Irving didn’t swing at Pritchard, which is good because it’s tough to imagine Boston fans hating him more than they already do. To recap, Irving played two underwhelming seasons in Boston (he notably threw an alley-oop pass to teammate Gordon Hayward in their first game together that resulted in Hayward breaking his ankle and missing the remainder of the 2017-18 season). Then, during an event with fans in the fall of 2018, he enthusiastically promised to re-sign with the Celtics over the offseason, only to instead join the Brooklyn Nets.
Wait, there’s more. After missing all three of Brooklyn’s games against the Celtics in 2019, he returned to an empty TD Garden (due to COVID-19 restrictions) for a preseason game in 2020 in which he burnt sage throughout the building to “cleanse the energy.” The following season, after his Nets earned a rare win in Boston during the opening round of the playoffs, Irving was seen stomping and rubbing his foot on the Celtics’ logo at midcourt.
End Of My Kyrie Irving Rant
Add these incidents with accusations that Boston’s fanbase is predominantly racist and his childlike reactions when booed in the TD Garden. It’s not hard to understand why Irving already has a firm standing among the city’s most hated athletes.
The sweetest part for Celtics fans, however, is that despite the nine-time All-Star’s undeniable talent, he is seemingly incapable of performing to his potential in Boston. At one point, Irving lost 13 straight games against the Celtics, spanning from 2021 until Game 4 of the 2024 NBA Finals.
Keep the revelations up,
Leave a Reply