Post-game jersey swapping is all the rage in the NBA. Dwyane Wade, on his farewell tour toward retirement, seems to trade jerseys with an opposing player in almost every single game. LeBron James even gave Luka Doncic his jersey after the Los Angeles Lakers in a November win over the Dallas Mavericks, despite not receiving one in return.
On Friday, though, this trend manifested itself in a more heartwarming manner. Kyrie Irving called his father, Drederick, down from the stands at Madison Square Garden after the Boston Celtics dispatched the New York Knicks to share a warm embrace and give his old man his jersey.
Kyrie called his father down from the stands to give him his jersey postgame 🙏 pic.twitter.com/NuBqequGFo
— ESPN (@espn) February 2, 2019
Touching.
Irving grew up in nearby West Orange, NJ, where he'd routinely watch his father, who played at Boston University and professionally in Australia, participate in men's league games. The pair shares a notably close relationship, in part due to the death of Irving's mother, Elizabeth, when he was four years old. The six-time All-Star was raised by his father, with the assistance of his aunts.
This tender moment between father and son likely took on extra significance given the media circus the younger Irving created at shootaround on Friday morning, when he stopped short of re-committing to signing with the Celtics this summer in free agency. His remarks came less than a day after the Knicks traded Kristaps Porzingis, in part to clear enough cap space to sign two max-level free agents come July.
Irving, who missed his team's previous two games with a minor left hip injury, scored 23 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and doled out six assists in Boston's 113-99 victory.
