Kyrie Irving Fantasy News and Statistics

In 2001, a nine-year-old Kyrie Irving guaranteed he would make it to the NBA during a field trip to the New Jersey Nets arena. Exactly 10 years later he talked that into existence as he became the top overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft. Since then, Irving has established himself as one of the most exciting players on the court while also being one of the most peculiar players off of it. That was epitomized during his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers as he hit, arguably, the biggest shot in NBA Finals history before demanding a trade which sent him to the Boston Celtics just one year later.

Irving’s ties to Boston go way back as his father, Drederick, played at Boston University in the 1980s. Drederick then played professionally in Australia, which is where Kyrie was born and spent his first two years. The family then relocated to New Jersey where the younger Irving would become one of the most coveted players in the state during his high school years. Irving had a scholarship offer to his father’s alma mater at just 10 years old, but he elected to attend Duke University and play for Mike Krzyzewski.

Due to a toe injury, Irving played in just 11 games at Duke, but that was still enough for the NBA to become enamored with his talent. The Cavs took him first in the draft, and he became the second Australian-born player to be selected first overall following Andrew Bogut. Irving’s first three NBA seasons were filled with great individual success but also minimal team success. He won Rookie of the Year and was a two-time All-Star, but the Cavs also won just 33 percent of their games.

Things changed in the summer of 2014 as LeBron James announced he was coming home and rejoining the Cavaliers. For the first time in his career, Irving would not be the best player or biggest star on his team, and he was a bit overwhelmed with the hype of James’ presence. During the regular season opener of the 2014-15 season, Irving infamously asked a teammate, “Is this what the playoffs is like?” due to the atmosphere that James brings with him every time he steps on the court. Irving would actually experience the playoffs for the first time that season, but it ended in Game 1 of the NBA Finals as he left with a knee injury as the Cavs fell to the Golden State Warriors.

Irving, the Cavs and the entire city of Cleveland would get their revenge a year later in the biggest series upset in NBA history. The Cavs came back from a 3-1 Finals deficit to defeat the Warriors, and Irving was the author of the series’ biggest shot. With the score tied and a minute left in Game 7, Irving drilled a three-pointer to give Cleveland a lead it would not relinquish as the Cavs won the NBA Finals. Irving would continue his dream summer by winning gold at the Summer Olympics when he was reunited with Coach K.

The following season would turn out to be Irving’s final year in Cleveland, but seemingly only he knew that. After the Cavs fell to the Warriors in the 2017 NBA Finals, Irving shocked the world by going public with a trade demand as he no longer wanted to play alongside, or in the shadow, of James. He also said he wanted the challenge of being the focal point of an offense, and he will get his wish as he was shipped to the Celtics. Irving has seemingly put individual accomplishment over winning, but it’s his prerogative to choose what he values more. He will undoubtedly be playing with a chip on his shoulder in 2017-18, and that should make for some entertaining basketball.