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- Kyrie Irving clapped back at a Cavaliers fan who chirped him during a game
- The Nets guard called the heckler “ungrateful” for ignoring his contributions during the season Cleveland won its first and only championship
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After missing most of the first half of this year’s NBA season to presumably conduct some of his own research, Kyrie Irving opted to make his grand return to the Brooklyn Nets earlier this month.
On Monday, the guard had a somewhat contentious exchange with a reporter following a loss to the Cavaliers, but it turns out that wasn’t the only back-and-forth he had after returning to his old stomping grounds in Cleveland.
Irving was selected by the Cavs with the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and remained their franchise player until LeBron James return to the team prior to the 2014 campaign. Two years later, he played a major role in helping secure the first title in the history of the franchise (one that also brought the city of Cleveland its first pro championship in 52 years), but would ultimately request a trade in 2017 after getting tired of playing second fiddle to James.
During Monday’s game, a Cavaliers fan alluded to Irving’s perception of being viewed as a sidekick when he heckled the guard by asking, “Kyrie, you need LeBron?” That chirp earned one of its own, as Irving responded by saying, “Got y’all a championship and motherf—kers still ungrateful.”
Kyrie chirped back at this Cavs fan heckling him. 🍿👀
(via _willswish/IG) pic.twitter.com/qAObz6tSUO
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 18, 2022
Plenty of fans subsequently chimed in to share their thoughts on the validity of the claim, with some saying LeBron deserves the bulk of the credit for the championship in question and others expressing their support for Irving.
He didn’t “get them a championship” he helped a lot but it was mostly Lebron.
— happy heat fan(28-16)(1)(9-8) (@theheatOWNyou) January 18, 2022
I posted this the moment Kyrie got traded & it still holds up.. Some will be ungrateful, not me tho 💍 https://t.co/N8GyAx5WDs pic.twitter.com/kVbQa3NwqD
— Nick Paulus (@NickPaulus) January 18, 2022
— Marcus Dash (@DashOfNews) January 19, 2022
Lebron: pic.twitter.com/6qaoKzBtA6
— Rent Em Spoons 🥷🏿 (@DerekJBiz) January 19, 2022
No Kyrie no ring Thank you Kyrie for helping bring my city its first and only NBA title!!! pic.twitter.com/BvHsP7bw8d
— Mr.AJ (@Anthony46837391) January 19, 2022
Kyrie had an amazing game 5 and 6 in 2016. Kyrie was a glorified stat padder until Lebron came back to Cleveland. Kyrie hasn’t done shit since he wanted to be traded, and may go down as one of the most selfish players in NBA history.
All of these statements are true https://t.co/kG8W9nG2OT
— Matt Cotman (@CotmanMattWFOB) January 19, 2022
“He didn’t get us a championship. LeBron did.” -Them
🤦🏽🤣 pic.twitter.com/ugm35CvZIN
— JhulSF (@JhulSF) January 19, 2022
Regardless of which side you fall on, I think we can all agree that the guy who said “It’s just one” was the real loser here.