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Kyrie Irving is a polarizing player. Despite being one of the most talented players in NBA history in some aspects, Irving developed a poor reputation between his departures from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, and Brooklyn Nets. But one of his former Celtics teammates, Marcus Smart, explained that Irving is a “great teammate” while admitting he and Irving butted heads in Boston.
While on the ‘Run Your Race' podcast, Smart, who was traded by the Celtics to the Memphis Grizzlies last offseason, was asked by Theo Pinson what he thought of Irving as a teammate when they played together on the Celtics for two seasons between 2017 and 2019.
“Great teammate,” Smart said. “And I think Kyrie gets a little bit more than his fair share [of criticism] because of just who he is. He's not going to back down from anybody — on the court or off the court. No matter what topic you want to talk to him about, don't matter what game, what sport, he's not going to back down. And that gives him a lot more shade than normal, but as a teammate, Kyrie's great.”
Smart said, however, that things were not always smooth between himself and Irving.
“Me and Kyrie, we didn’t see eye to eye at first,” Smart said. “It was tough, he’s trying to figure out on a new team, we was trying to figure out how to play with him. I remember, I sat him down one time and was like, ‘Listen bruh, I just want to see how you’re doing. I know you’ve got a lot going on too. People probably don’t ask you as much as how you’re doing.' I just told him, I said, for me to be the best defender that I’m going to be, bruh, I’m going to guard you and it’s going to be every day. I don’t care, we’re going to fight, we’re going to argue, but at the end of the day, it’s going to make me better and at the end of the day, I know it’s all love. When I step on that court, that’s what it is. Vice versa, I know for you being the player that you are offensively, you need somebody like me on that other side, that’s going to push you…”
Kyrie Irving's disappointing stint with Celtics
In 2017, a year after making one of the most important shots in NBA history in the Finals, Kyrie Irving requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Irving eventually ended up with the Celtics, a team trying to get over the hump after a mini-rebuild a few years earlier.
Irving's time with the Celtics was less than stellar, though, as the team underperformed — with Irving sidelined due to injury, Boston lost to Cleveland in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2018 before being eliminated in the second round the next year by the Milwaukee Bucks. While Irving said before the 2018-19 season that he would stay with the Celtics “if you guys will have me,” Irving left Boston to sign with the Brooklyn Nets during the 2019 offseason.
The exit, coupled with the disappointing results in his two years in Boston, led to Irving being vilified by Celtics fans, who Irving, then a part of the Brooklyn Nets, said in 2021 exhibited “subtle racism.” Marcus Smart confirmed shortly thereafter that he had heart “a couple” of racial slurs being yelled by fans at the TD Garden in Boston.
Irving and the Celtics met in their highest-profile clash since his departure in this year's NBA Finals, of which Boston got the better. After having one of his best postseasons since leaving Cleveland, Irving struggled in the Finals as the Celtics rolled to a 4-1 series victory and their record 18th NBA Championship.
