Kyrie Irving’s ill-advised campaign with the Boston Celtics came and went quickly.
Despite the short-term nature of their relationship, Irving and Celtics fans have been at each other’s throats for years.
This week, with Boston on the verge of eliminating the Dallas Mavericks from the NBA playoffs, Irving looked back at his time with the Celtics and offered a brutal assessment of Celtics culture. It followed the theme of Irving being really honest throughout this entire series — including about his own poor play.
Recently, during a conversation with Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Irving offered up a blistering assessment of Celtics culture.
“You have to show your respect here,” Irving said. “I think that’s what I struggled with initially, was figuring out how I’m going to be a great player here while winning championships and also leading a team and selflessly joining the Celtics’ organization or the cult that they have here.”
Irving didn’t stop there, though.
“That’s what they expect you to do as a player. They expect you to seamlessly buy into the Celtics’ pride, buy into everything Celtics. And if you don’t, then you’ll be outed… I’m one of the people that’s on the outs.”
When the Mavericks made the Finals, many viewed it as Irving’s opportunity to really make the Celtics pay for how they and their fans treated him.
Instead, the opposite occurred.
Once again, Boston is on the verge of coming out on top.
Will Celtics fans be able to mend fences with Irving once they win another NBA championship? Time will tell.
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
