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This week, some of the absolute best high school basketball players in the country came together for the annual Top 100 Camp put on by the NBA’s Players Association. The camp gives young players the opportunity to compete against one another under the tutelage of current and former NBA players. One of the main headliners for this year’s camp was Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving.
Not only does the camp provide basketball training and competition, but it also gives young players the opportunity to learn about life skills to help develop their character. During one portion of the camp, Kyrie Irving opted to give the attendees a message of more than just basketball.
“You never know who’s watching you, you never know who’s going to be in a position to help you or give you that opportunity,” Irving said. “Just move with grace. It’s okay to be a kind person. You don’t have to be too cool to say what’s up to people. You don’t have to be too tough to get along with people. But honor yourself too. Balance that out.”
The Mavericks star also touched up on basketball specific knowledge in terms of being seen and carving out a legitimate pathway to the NBA. From the NBPA’s official website, over 300 camp alumni have gone on to play in the league.
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“In the NBA, and this is just my perspective, but you can stay a kid forever if you so choose. You can just stay a kid because basketball is just so fun, it’s a kid’s game. We just get paid millions of dollars to play a kid’s game,” Irving said. “The generational blueprint is there. I think we’re in the most beautiful time because now these guys have so much of a better chance than I think when I was coming in. . .because it is more family oriented. It is more, I’ve been watching you since you were a kid, now I’m the GM of a team, make sure we go see so-and-so.”
As far as Kyrie Irving’s own career, the Mavericks star is rehabbing from an ACL injury that cut his 2024-25 season short. The injury is expected to keep him sidelined through the beginning of next season. He appeared in 50 games this past season at a little over 36 minutes per game.
He averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals with splits of 47.3 percent shooting from the field, 40.1 percent shooting from the three-point line and 91.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
