Kyrie Irving is now experiencing what it's like to have the burden of being the leader of a team, one that will go through highs and lows, inevitably struggling from time to time as they gear up for the playoffs. The Boston Celtics guard recently admitted that his handling of the local and national media hasn't been the best.
“The way I’ve handled things, it hasn’t been perfect,” Irving told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports as he rested his feet in a bucket of ice at his locker stall. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes that I take full responsibility for. I apologize. I haven’t done it perfectly. I haven’t said the right things all the time. I don’t want to sit on a place like I’m on a pedestal from anybody. I’m a normal human being that makes mistakes. For me, I think because of how fixated I was on trying to prove other people wrong, I got into a lot of habits that were bad, like reading stuff and reacting emotionally. That’s just not who I am.”
This is hardly the first time Irving has apologized for past transgressions. Not long ago, he took to calling his old teammate LeBron James, apologizing for his abrupt exit from the Cleveland Cavaliers and the way he handled his trade request — one he was hoping to leave behind as the two patched up sore wounds stemming from three seasons together.
Irving is slowly learning what it takes to be in sole possession of the spotlight, and he's struggled mightily. He initially wanted the fame and praise, but has proven unable to handle the shame and criticism that stems from that very prominence in the spotlight.
The 26-year-old has gone from committing to the Celtics in free agency to suddenly being noncommittal and sparking rumors of a departure to the New York Knicks, as well as a potential team-up with Kevin Durant, a reunion with James in Los Angeles, or an uncertain return to play alongside Anthony Davis, if Boston trades for him.
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