Kyrie Irving feels he has ‘healthy relationship’ with Celtics fans
"It is good to hear the TD Garden silent when you’re playing well. They still respect great basketball."
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving knows what’s in store for him when he returns to TD Garden on Thursday night.
The former Celtics star has long been considered one of the most disliked athletes in Boston sports history, especially after leaving the Celtics in free agency in 2019.
Add in several confrontational encounters during playoff games at TD Garden while playing for the Nets, and it’s all but a given that the boo birds will be out whenever Irving steps onto the parquet floor during the NBA Finals.
Irving’s last two playoffs series against Boston featured several unfortunate moments — be it a fan throwing a water bottle at his head after Game 4 in 2021, Irving stepping on the Celtics’ logo at mid-court after that same game, or Irving flipping the middle finger to the crowd in Game 1 in 2022.
Speaking to reporters on Monday down in Dallas, Irving reflected on his past trips to Boston and his own conduct during those two playoff series.
“I think I’m better at consolidating kind of the emotions now or being aware of what it’s going to be like,” Irving told reporters, per ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “We call it animosity, we call it hate, we call it, ‘It’s going to be hell in Boston.’ I mean, there are real, live circumstances going on in the world that are bigger than the basketball, kind of the competitive side of things and answering those questions.
“But I will say last time in Boston, I don’t think that was the best — not this regular season, but when we played in the playoffs and everyone saw me flip off the birds and kind of lose my (expletive) a little bit — that wasn’t a great reflection of who I am and how I like to compete on a high level.
“It wasn’t a great reflection on my end toward the next generation on what it means to control your emotions in that type of environment, no matter what people are yelling at you.”
Irving will look to get the last laugh against the Celtics and their fans in the weeks ahead, with a win over Boston with a title on the line serving as the best sort of revenge against a market that holds no affinity for him.
“I’m built for these moments, to be able to handle circumstances like that, and I’ve been able to grow since then,” Irving added, per MacMahon. “So of course it’s going to be a hectic environment, but I’m looking forward to it and I see it as a healthy relationship that I have with the fans.
“I almost think about ‘Gladiator,’ just winning the crowd over. It is good to hear the TD Garden silent when you’re playing well. They still respect great basketball.”
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