Did Marcus Smart take shot at Kyrie Irving?
Jan 28, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) dribbles against the Atlanta Hawks in the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Marcus Smart could be the latest to join in on the roast of Kyrie Irving.
The Boston Celtics guard Smart spoke with reporters Tuesday and appeared to get in a shot at his ex-teammate Irving while talking about his own value.
“I think I proved a little bit of everything,” he said, per Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. “I heard the talk about [I’m] not a true point guard, and this and that, and they need a star point guard. We’ve had star point guards and all these point guards. And yet this so-called non-point guard is the only one that has led them to the Finals.”
Smart’s comment about “star point guards” definitely seems like a swipe at Irving. While Smart did play with other All-Star point guards like Isaiah Thomas and Kemba Walker, Thomas developed into an All-Star after he arrived in Boston, while Walker was brought in to help fill the void that Irving left behind. Irving himself was the real “star point guard” whose acquisition was supposed to lead the Celtics to the promised land. But thanks to both injury and general incompatibility, it never materialized before Irving jumped ship for Brooklyn in 2019.
We know that Irving was pretty unpopular in the Celtics locker room. The infamously abrasive Smart once snapped over an Irving-related inquiry too, so it’s not a stretch to read these comments as a swipe at Captain Flat Earth.
