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Kyrie Irving and the rest of the Dallas Mavericks were in New York City to take on the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night, and Irving got into an exchange with a courtside fan about his time in Brooklyn.
During the game, the fan — @courtsidenets on Twitter — asked Irving why he “didn’t play” to the level he’s currently at while he was with the Nets, to which Irving replied that it’s Mayor Eric Adams’ fault.
Irving — similar to New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers — is still living in 2021 and is likely referring to the New York City COVID guidelines that were put into effect by Adams.
“Kyrie, why you don’t play like this when you were on the Nets?” the fan asked.
“Blame Mayor Adams for that bro,” Irving responded, which prompted the fan to then say, “Oh, come on…”
I asked @KyrieIrving why he didn’t play like this when he was in the @BrooklynNets ? He told me to thank @NYCMayor for that #netsworld pic.twitter.com/RtG33m7fUR
— Courtside Nets (@Courtsidenets) February 7, 2024
The 31-year-old point guard was traded to the Dallas Mavericks last season in an effort to give Luka Donic another All-Star to play with. The trade hasn’t quite worked yet, however, as the Mavericks currently sit 8th in the NBA’s Western Conference with a record of 28-23 (as of February 7).
This season, his first full campaign with the Mavericks, Irving is averaging 25.5 points, 5.4 assists, and 5 rebounds per game.
To be fair to Irving, he wasn’t the only All Star who failed to deliver during his time in Brooklyn, as Irving was infamously paired up with James Harden and Kevin Durant, who both brought absolutely zero success to the franchise and forced a trade out of town.
While Irving won an NBA title with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, that remains his only championship and it came while he was partnered with LeBron James. The season after winning the title, Irving forced his way out of Cleveland believing he deserved to be the face of a franchise and ultimately wound up on the Celtics.
His time in Boston, of course, didn’t last long, as Irving spent less than three seasons with the Celtics and remains widely unliked by the fanbase.