Kyrie Irving’s former high school coach thinks that big things are in store for the All-Star guard now that he is on the Boston Celtics.
In an interview with Michael Lee of The Vertical that was published on Wednesday, Kevin Boyle, who coached Irving at St. Patrick High School in New Jersey, gave a bold prediction for his ex-pupil’s 2017-18 campaign.
“I think this season he’ll be the MVP and Boston will be in the championship series,” said Boyle. “That’s crazy, his high school coach is saying this. Some might say that’s somewhat of an outrageous statement, but it’s also smart if it’s right. The last time, I said he’d be the best guard ever from New Jersey, and I was right.”
An MVP for Irving might actually be a hotter take than the Celtics in the 2018 Finals, especially since they weakened their biggest Eastern rivals, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in the short-term with the Irving-Isaiah Thomas swap. But the Duke product put up 25.2 points (a career-high) and 5.8 assists per game last season playing in LeBron James’ shadow. The sky is truly the limit now that Irving is the top offensive option on a better-coached team (and one that he sounds rather pleased to be on at that).
