Kyrie Irving returned to Barclays Center Tuesday for the first time since requesting a trade from the Brooklyn Nets one year ago. While the Dallas Mavericks star said “it felt like home” walking into his former arena, his homecoming could be characterized as forgettable.

Irving did not receive a tribute video like his former co-star Kevin Durant. He was instead offered the same remembrance as Seth Curry and Markieff Morris – a graphic on the jumbotron before pregame introductions. The eight-time All-Star was met with boos from Nets fans drowned out by cheers from Mavericks fans in attendance to see him and Luka Doncic.

But as he did so many times during his Nets tenure, Irving put on a show for the Brooklyn Crowd, scoring 36 points on 15-of-24 shooting during a 119-107 Dallas win. From the opening tip, his aggressiveness signaled a player determined to show Nets owner Joe Tsai and general manager Sean Marks, who refused to offer him a fully guaranteed max contract, what they had lost.

Following the performance, the eight-time All-Star revealed his reasoning for requesting a trade from Brooklyn.

“I don't want to get too deep into it because I love protecting the people that I'm in business with, even if it doesn't work out,” Irving said. “I wish all those guys well, but conversations that needed to be had weren't had before the trade deadline, and I don't know if anything needed to be salvaged.”

“I just think it was time to get my own peace of mind and go somewhere where I was able to thrive and be in a situation where I didn't have to worry about kind of behind-the-back talk or the media talk or not knowing how to handle real-life circumstances that have nothing to do with the game of basketball but have everything to do with how you handle someone as a person,” Irving continued. “While I was here, I learned a lot of lessons. I've made my peace again, like I said, and I just wanna move forward.”

Irving comes back to Brooklyn

Irving's brilliance in his return, which followed Durant's less than a week ago, was another reminder of what could have been in Brooklyn. The Nets seemed poised to be perennial title contenders when both stars signed with the team in the summer of 2019. Fast-forward four years, and the duo has one playoff series win and numerous off-court fiascos to show for their tenure.

The closest the team came to winning a title came in 2021 after trading for James Harden. Brooklyn's Big Three dismantled the Boston Celtics in the first round while posting one of the highest offensive ratings in NBA history.

However, Harden injured his hamstring on the opening possession of the second round vs. the Milwaukee Bucks. The Nets still took a 2-0 lead, leading by as many as 49 points in Game 2, but Irving injured his ankle during Game 3. Durant pushed Milwaukee to seven games, coming one shoe size short of taking down the eventual champions.

Irving alluded to the series when speaking on his Nets legacy.

“Things could have changed, and you look back at the past, and you have 20/20 vision,” he said. “This could've gone right, or this could’ve happened. If I didn’t get injured vs. the Bucks, do I still ask for a trade? If KD’s foot wasn’t on the 3-point line, are we talking about a different legacy here?”

“If James doesn’t ask for a trade, all the woulda, coulda, shoulda, wouldas, hopefully after this night, we can just put that to rest and just move forward, and I can look forward to the rest of my career and just handle it in Dallas and going after my second championship.”

Irving, who grew up a Nets fan in New Jersey, cited the team's trips to the finals in 2002 and 2003 as his inspiration for becoming an NBA player. However, he never approached that level of success in Brooklyn, and his decisions off the court played a far more significant role than any deficiencies he had on it.

Whether it was his taking two extended absences for personal reasons without notifying the team in 2021, his refusal to comply with New York's workplace COVID-19 mandate in 2022, or his posting a link to an antisemitic film that got him suspended early last season, Irving never failed to pull attention away from the court.

“For me, it was bigger than a championship here,” he said of his time with the Nets. “I had to really take some moral stances that propelled me into a place in my life that I had to become accustomed to. There were some political things that were going on here as well that I couldn’t control that I was responsible for. There were some things that I did on my accord that I look back on, and they were mistakes, and I have to be accountable for those things.”

“I’m not perfect, but one thing I can say is I’ve been able to learn from things and continue to push forward, man. And now I’m around some good people, and that’s all that matters.”

In Irving's four years with the Nets, winning a championship never seemed to be his top priority. He continually refused to put his team first when making decisions off the court, decisions that time and time again served as roadblocks to building sustainable success.

Whether or not you agree with those choices, they're what Irving will ultimately be remembered for in Brooklyn, far more than anything he accomplished on the court.