Kyrie Irving received a less-than-warm welcome from the local fans as he returned to Cleveland this week.
The Brooklyn Nets guard was in town to face the Cavaliers on Monday night, a game that Irving was eligible to play in since it was a road contest. A video from the game went viral of Irving’s profane response to a courtside fan who was heckling him.
“Got y’all a championship and motherf—ers still ungrateful,” Irving said.
Here is the video, which was posted by Instagram user _willswish (but obviously beware of the bad language).
Irving ended up going for 27 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists on the evening, but the Cavaliers won 114-107. Cleveland is now just one game behind Brooklyn in the Eastern Conference standings.
The seven-time All-Star Irving was drafted No. 1 overall by the Cavs in 2011 and played his first six career seasons with them. He indeed played a major role in the franchise’s only NBA championship to date in 2016, hitting the series-winning shot in Game 7 of the Finals that year.
Granted, there are plenty who will argue that LeBron James, not Irving, was most responsible for the 2016 title. Irving probably cannot expect a hero’s welcome back either with the shots that he took at Cleveland after leaving.
Photo: Feb 1, 2020; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving (11) during the second half against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
