Kyrie Irving is a different kind of cat.
But, we already knew that from the “the earth is flat” BS from a couple years ago, among other things. What we didn’t know is that Irving was just angry after he drained the Game 7 game-winner in the 2016 NBA Finals, winning Cleveland an NBA title and himself a ring. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst talked about it on his Hoop Collective podcast (hat tip 247sports.com).“Kyrie is a strange dude,” Windhorst said. “They (Celtics) win Game 1. He played okay. He kind of took over in the second half. He runs over to his family after winning Game 1 in the same vein Tiger (Woods) ran over to his family after winning The Masters. He’s celebrating with his dad. I’m all for it.”
“He won The Finals (in 2016 with the Cavs) and he was angry. He seriously won The Finals, his father and sister came out to hug him and he was angry. He was mad, in that moment. And then, when he got to the locker room, while his teammates were celebrating, he FaceTimed Kobe (Bryant).”
To be honest, this was not something I noticed at the game or in the locker room/postgame interviews in the arena. That said, Windhorst was more focused on the Cavaliers and knows Irving better than I do, so I take his word for it.
Was this intensity from the game spilling over, or was this anger the precursor to him asking for a trade the next year?
If you’re using that and Irving’s fluctuating moods this season to project what he is going to do this free agency, good luck with that. He’s a different kind of cat. He’s going to do whatever he feels like at the time.
