BOSTON — The Celtics aren’t playing Kyrie Irving and his All-Star Band when the NBA Finals start on Thursday at TD Garden. There are actually other players on the Mavericks.
But this is undoubtedly Kyrie Week. He and some other guys stand in the way of the Celtics’ winning a championship. The spotlight isn’t likely to ever leave the controversial former Boston guard until somebody is lifting a trophy.
Irving isn’t even the best player on the Mavericks, a distinction held inarguably by Luka Doncic. But he’s still elite and the Celtics fans sure do still hate him.
The amount that Boston fans want the Celtics to win Banner No. 18 is greater than the amount they want Irving to fail. But honestly, it’s close. The intersection of those two desires should create quite the subplot.
Irving will define this series. He’ll spend the next three weeks in the spotlight being analyzed and overanalyzed and badgered. What will he say? Will he stomp on the logo again?
Irving has managed to avoid controversy in this postseason so far. But he rarely ever seems to do so against the Celtics.
Media from around the world will spend this week asking Irving about his dysfunctional stint in Boston. The Celtics traded the much-beloved Isaiah Thomas, the King of the Fourth Quarter, in a package for Irving, who bailed on the Cavaliers. And at first it looked a great deal. Irving not only told season-ticket holders that he planned to re-sign in Boston, but he did a commercial saying his dad was the reason he wore No. 11 in Boston and he wanted to be the reason nobody else ever did.
It was all very heartwarming and uplifting for Celtics fans.
It was also a load of crap.
Irving, who was injured, left his teammates in the 2018 playoffs to have elective surgery rather than staying to support and be a leader to the young group. In 2019, he clumsily played footsie with Kevin Durant at the All-Star game as they plotted to abandon their current teams to form a partnership in New York. But he was furious when reporters dared ask him about it.
As it turned out the Celtics were better off without him and Brooklyn was as disastrous as ever. Durant bailed and forced his way to Phoenix and obscurity. Irving was traded to Dallas, who floundered upon his arrival and missed the 2023 playoffs.
But this year Irving has been different. He’s deferred to Doncic and made it work. It’s important to recognize, Irving isn’t playing like the Brooklyn bust that the Celtics bounced from the playoffs in 2022. He’s saged the bad vibes out of himself and been better in all areas.
But can he hold it together in Boston?
Irving clearly brings out the anger in Celtics fans, but being in Boston ignites all of his more problematic impulses. In April of 2022, the last time the Nets were relevant, he said he was over being TD Garden’s least welcome guest.
“I hope we could move past my Boston era and reflect on some of the highlights I left at TD Garden that they can replay,” said Irving, whose Celtics highlight amounted to one playoff series win. “Move forward. Just a new paradigm, baby.”
That new paradigm apparently included him giving the crowd the middle finger on more than one occasion, just two days later. The TD Garden fans wore his scorn like a badge of honor. Every middle finger was a little trophy. Hopefully nobody is dumb enough to throw a water bottle or cross the line, but they’ll undoubtedly be trying to rattle him again.
Can he rise above it? History says no.
Follow MassLive sports columnist Matt Vautour on Twitter at @MattVautour424.
