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Former Celtics Kevin Garnett, Glen Davis call out Kyrie Irving for logo stomp
Garnett and Davis took to social media to criticize Irving for stepping on the Celtics' leprechaun logo, prompting a response from Irving's teammate Kevin Durant.
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Former Celtic Kyrie Irving got a taste of the vitriol he spoke out against in his return to Boston when a 21-year-old man threw a water bottle at him as he walked off the floor following Brooklyn’s win over the Celtics Sunday.
The fan’s actions, along with those of others recently involved in courtside incidents at the NBA playoffs, have been widely condemned.
But Celtics supporters, including former player Kevin Garnett and Glen Davis, say Irving’s own antagonism in disrespecting Boston’s logo during the Nets’ win also crossed a line.
The controversial Nets guard appeared to walk to center court and wipe his foot on the “Lucky the Leprechaun” logo before leaving the floor. Twenty-one-year-old Cole Buckley aimed the water bottle at him shortly after.
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While saying “all of us need to be better,” Garnett wasn’t willing to let Irving’s antics go undiscussed.
“So nobody gonna say anything about Kyrie stomping ‘LUCKY?'” Garnett quipped on his Instagram account. “We just gonna act like we didn’t see that…you can’t do that.”
Garnett played in Boston for six seasons, winning a title in 2008. He also has a reputation for being one of the league’s most intense trash-talkers — a fact several social media users have leveled against his criticism of Irving.
Past Celtics like Cedric Maxwell and Robert Parish also spoke out against Irving’s spite toward the logo, though both tempered their criticism given the events that followed.
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Davis took his invective against Irving to another level, saying stepping on the logo means stepping on “everybody that ever played for that team” on Instagram.
“Keep that s–t basketball before someone gets hurt in real life,” he added.
But Irving’s teammate Kevin Durant seemed to laugh off Davis’s perceived threat against Irving in an explicit reply of his own.
The Nets star spoke up about the incident after the game in greater detail, asking fans to “have some respect for the game, respect for these human beings and have some respect for yourself.”
The Nets and Celtics will play Tuesday in Brooklyn for Game 5 of their first round series, which Irving’s squad leads 3-1. The series would return to Boston if the Celtics win.
Buckley’s hearing for assault and battery against Irving will take place Wednesday.
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