Kyrie Irving left the Cleveland Cavaliers for a chance to carve his own path and be the leader he had hoped to become after becoming an NBA player. Upon his trade to the Boston Celtics, it didn't take long for him to assess himself as a leader of men, as the only player with championship experience in the entire roster.

“He's been our leader from the beginning of the year,” backup point guard Terry Rozier said, according to Taylor Snow of Celtics.com. “He's vocal and leads by example, so he's just a great guy to be around off the court and on the court.”

“He brings that winning mentality,” added Marcus Smart, who is the longest-tenured member of the team. “A guy like Kyrie who knows what it takes to win a championship and the things you have to go through, to have somebody like that to come in and stabilize this group where you've got a lot of young guys, young talent that's been thrown in the fire very early, it's been huge for us.”

The Celtics rebounded from what was a horrendous start to their season, dealing with a season-ending injury to Gordon Hayward within the first few minutes of the season opener. Boston lost that game and the next, but managed to string together a 16-game win streak to put them atop the Eastern Conference at the time.

Article Continues Below
More Boston Celtics News
Oct 28, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Former Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade is honored at halftime during the game against the Detroit Pistons at Kaseya Center.
Why Dwyane Wade absolutely loves Celtics’ Anfernee Simons tradeRishav Bhat ·
Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons (1) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Boston Celtics at Moda Center.
Celtics rumors: Will Boston trade Anfernee Simons?Alex House ·
boston celtics 2025 nba draft
Boston Celtics 2025 NBA Draft grades for every pickDaniel Donabedian ·
May 14, 2025; Chicago, Il, USA; Jase Richardson talks to the media during the 2025 NBA Draft Combine at Marriott Marquis Chicago.
Orlando Magic’s Jase Richardson headlines 5 biggest steals of 2025 NBA Draft Round 1Rishav Bhat ·
Celtics' Jayson Tatum watching Cooper Flagg shoot a basketball.
Celtics’ Jayson Tatum shares Cooper Flagg photo after NBA DraftAbdullah Imran ·
Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens throws a behind the back pass to one of his players before their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden.
Celtics pull off trade with Magic amid second round of 2025 NBA draftRichard Pereira ·

Yet Irving recognized that leadership comes not only from willing to be the one who talks at the right moments, but also one to listen to others when they most need it.

“I think I've been learning as much from them as they have from me,” said Irving. “That's just the environment that they've created over here, and I've just tried to integrate myself as much as possible. There's a few of us that have been through a few things in this league where we've experienced some success, and I think that we can all offer a lot of knowledge.

The Celtics (45-20) stand within striking range of the Eastern Conference leader Toronto Raptors (47-17), and they'll need Irving's leadership through the remaining 17 games to catch up to them before the season ends.