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Kyrie Irving made headlines again this weekend during a recent matchup between the Mavericks and Hornets. The star point guard was seen having a fan removed from the arena midgame.
Many around the NBA world are now seeing the viral clip as they post reactions to the scene online.
Dallas traveled to Charlotte for a Sunday afternoon contest against the Hornets in hopes of reversing the team’s recent struggles. The Mavs entered the matchup riding a three-game losing streak to fall three games below .500 on the season.
With the season winding down, Dallas’s playoff chances are beginning to slip. The team entered Sunday’s contest a half-game up for the final play-in spot. It’s been a stark contrast to what was expected of the squad following the trade deadline.
Dallas landed Kyrie Irving from the Nets as they looked to add star power around Luka Doncic. In the 20 games since the trade, though, the Mavericks are just 7-13. That includes a 6-9 mark with Irving in the lineup.
To make matters worse, their new guard has seemingly caused tensions in the locker room. Doncic was heard talking earlier this month about his growing frustrations on the court.
“I used to have fun, smiling on the court, but now it’s just been frustrating.”
That was just one month into the Kyrie Irving project.
Irving was already a headache in Brooklyn where he made headlines for sharing antisemitic material, requesting a trade, and clowning on the organization at every opportunity.
Now, many believe those red flags are beginning to reveal themselves in Dallas.
It’s clear that frustration levels are high on the Mavericks judging by Irving’s latest actions in a loss to Charlotte. The point guard was seen having a heckler removed from the crowd midgame.
With the Mavericks trailing by seven points early in the second half, he escorted security over as he identified the trash talker.
Kyrie has a fan ejected from the Mavericks-Hornets game pic.twitter.com/tMGMCEg1hj
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) March 26, 2023
Fans online quickly took the ejection as a chance to troll Kyrie.
One person wrote, “Keep crying Cryrie!!” Another said, “Kyrie soft suspend him.”
This fan compared him to LeBron James, who’s also had fans removed from games in the past, by posting, “Kyrie thinks he’s LeBron.”
Not the best look for Irving. With the latest loss, the Mavs have fallen a half-game behind the Thunder for the final playoff spot.