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Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving revealed his mindset behind his surprising alley-oop to himself at the NBA All-Star Game. While the event's new format was ripped by fans and even Draymond Green, there were still some highlights on Sunday night. The Mavericks point guard, who was named to the team for a ninth time after replacing his teammate Anthony Davis, was a part of Team Shaq, which ended up winning the event's cash prize.
This year's weekend featured a new format that involved four teams, each composed of eight players. All three games were best to 40 points, with each player on the championship-winning team receiving a $125,000 reward. Kyrie, alongside other future Hall-of-Famers Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Damian Lillard, dominated the competition. And despite being 32 years old, Irving revealed he is still very much in his athletic prime.
The Mavs' leader disclosed his thought process going into this viral off-the-backboard dunk.
“I still got bounce, man. I’m getting more athletic in my 30s. In the All-Star game, a few of my predecessors threw it off the glass, so I thought I’d join the ranks with them.”
Kyrie Irving will need to continue his terrific form to help Dallas accomplish its ultimate goal this season
While he got in as a replacement, Kyrie more than deserved a spot on this roster. In his 14th year, Irving is averaging 24.6 points, 4.8 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game at a very high efficiency. The former No. 1 pick out of Duke is showing no signs of slowing down, and his form could be one of the reasons why the Mavericks made the monumental decision to trade star point guard Luka Doncic.
Dallas made the controversial move to win a championship as soon as possible. While many fans will likely never get over this move, the Mavericks are still built to be a very tough out in the playoffs. However, one of the issues that this team is facing is Anthony Davis's uncertain health.
The superstar power forward picked up an injury in his electric debut for his new team. Davis will be out for a while as the Western Conference race heats up. Dallas is now 30-26 and eighth in the West. With a schedule that ranks in the bottom half of the league, the Mavericks will have plenty of opportunities to move up. And it starts with their star point guard over these next few weeks.
Overall, on a night that came with a lot of criticism, Kyrie Irving provided a moment for some fans to remember. He'll go home now $125,000 richer ahead of a critical stretch for his franchise. The Mavericks have all of their goals ahead of them. It's time to go and grab that brass ring.
