Kyrie Irving acknowledges mind-set while in Boston led to wrong approach with Celtics legends
Irving, now 32, said he has learned to appreciate the value of mentorship from past stars.
Kyrie Irving said he took the wrong approach with Celtics legends after he was traded to the team in 2017.
Instead of going back, looking up the history, and reaching out to those who came before him for wisdom, Irving said he took on a “go with the flow” mind-set.
If he had the chance to go back and do things over again, Irving, who has since played for the Nets and now Mavericks, said he would have been the one reaching out for advice instead of expecting others to come to him.
Irving, then 25 with six years of experience and one NBA title, could have been learning from those who made the Celtics one of the winningest franchises in all of professional sports. Instead, he was caught up in trying to do things his own way.
“So you have to show your respect here,” Irving said. “I think that’s what I struggled with initially, was figuring out how I’m going to be a great player here while winning championships and also leading a team and selflessly joining the Celtics organization or the cult that they have here. That’s what they expect you to do as a player.
“They expect you to seamlessly buy into the Celtics pride, buy into everything Celtics. And if you don’t, then you’ll be outed. I’m one of the people that’s on the outs. I’m perfectly fine with that, you know what I mean. I did it to myself. They don’t welcome me with a warm embrace, even though I know a lot of people in the organization and I’m friends still with some of them.”
Irving, now 32, said he has learned to appreciate the value of mentorship from past stars. They’ve been through a similar road to the one he’s traveling now, and they came out on the other side as champions.
“Looking back, I would have shown my respect,” Irving said. “And have more of a council around me from some of the Boston Celtics that came before me to explain what the pressure is like.”
Irving, who won a title with the Cavaliers in 2016 before the trade to Boston, advised future players who may consider joining the Celtics to do their homework and know the history of the franchise.
“The community has integrated into the Celtics team. That’s probably the best way I could say it,” Irving said. “The community is what makes the Celtics great here, the Boston pandemonium. That’s what makes this space so loud and so special, and they take pride in it.
“If any player is coming here, getting drafted here, thinking about coming here for free agency, getting traded here, I just think do your homework and make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. That’s something I could offer.”
Porzingis a Game 5 unknown
Kristaps Porzingis is still working toward a return after missing the past two games with an ankle injury (left posterior tibialis dislocation), coach Joe Mazzulla said.
It is unclear whether Porzingis will be ready to play in Monday night’s Game 5 of the Finals at TD Garden, when the Celtics will make a second attempt at closing out the Mavericks.
“He’s trying and doing everything he can to try to put himself in position to be out there. I know that for sure,” Mazzulla said.
Porzingis was on the court with the team during the media-access portion of practice Sunday. He was made available for Game 4 but did not play.
“When we go through our practices and stuff like that, he’s doing some stuff but you can still tell that he’s very uncomfortable,” Xavier Tillman said. “We don’t want to put him in any type of situation that could really, really hurt him.”
Jrue Holiday listed Porzingis’s sense of humor along with several aspects of his game among the things the Celtics have missed.
“We miss him a lot,” Holiday said. “Top-three player on our team. Scoring, defense at the rim, blocking shots, comedic relief. It’s been great playing with him and we wish that he was out here with us.”
Brown delivers message
Jaylen Brown said his message to the team ahead of Game 5 is that it’s very close to accomplishing the goal of winning a title, and now is the time to lock in and focus on the details.
“This is what we all work for,” Brown said. “We are at the precipice of completing what we set out to do at the beginning of the season. So I think it’s not difficult to get everybody in that locker room on the same page right now.
“It just needs to remind everybody that it’s just one possession at a time. We do it together and we fight like our lives depend on it, and I think we’ll be all right.”
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