Kyrie Irving’s past playoff meetings against the Boston Celtics were often marked by mutual antagonism and vitriol. It does not sound like we should expect the same in the 2024 NBA Finals, at least from Irving’s side.
Irving on Monday admitted that he regretted his handling of those previous playoff meetings. Irving faced the Celtics in the playoffs as a member of the Brooklyn Nets in 2021 and 2022, and those games saw him curse at at least one fan while making multiple obscene gestures toward the crowd. Irving said he has grown since then and is better at controlling his emotions, and that he regrets responding the way he did.
“I will say last time in Boston, I don’t think that was the best — not this regular season, but when we played in the playoffs and everyone saw me flip off the birds and kind of lose my s— a little bit — that wasn’t a great reflection of who I am and how I like to compete on a high level,” Irving said, via Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “It wasn’t a great reflection on my end towards the next generation on what it means to control your emotions in that type of environment, no matter what people are yelling at you.
“I’m built for these moments, to be able to handle circumstances like that, and I’ve been able to grow since then. So of course it’s going to be a hectic environment, but I’m looking forward to it and I see it as a healthy relationship that I have with the fans. I almost think about ‘Gladiator,’ just winning the crowd over. It is good to hear the TD Garden silent when you’re playing well. They still respect great basketball.”
Irving’s past interactions with Celtics fans were a huge story in those previous meetings, and Boston fans definitely crossed the line at times. It has already been made very clear that they will not be any kinder to Irving now than they were then.
In 2022, Irving said he was simply giving the same energy back to them, but he appears ready to embrace a different approach for the NBA Finals.
