Kyrie Irving is returning to the NBA Finals stage in a good place: ‘It’s not too often you’re back’

DALLAS — There’s a pause before Kyrie Irving speaks, almost a rhythmic beat as he gathers his thoughts.

Going off-script on the floor produces the most beautifully awkward, twisting layups with special English.

But in this public sphere, Irving makes sure his English doesn’t go to the unintended places. Sometimes, he’ll ask for clarity to be sure, or state, “I’m trying to think of the best way to say this.”

Perhaps it’s maturity or, even better, discernment — making sure he’s on message while still being himself, from the experiences over the past few years or, likely, the totality of his career to date.

He has often expressed how he has felt at a given moment, many times to his detriment. How he feels now only matters so much, so it doesn’t have to be redemption. His actions are what count here, and the actions are creating a more complete picture.

Perhaps it’s realizing how close he was to losing it all and now he’s back on the NBA Finals stage for the first time since 2017, when he was a much younger man.

“I don’t want to call it a life raft or lifeline, but it was like family reaching out,” Irving told Yahoo Sports last week during the Western Conference finals.

(Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

That family Irving referenced was Dallas Mavericks GM Nico Harrison, whose relationship with Irving goes back to Harrison’s days as a Nike executive — a place he’d been for nearly 20 years — and who signed an extension with the Mavs on Tuesday.

It all happened so fast, Irving and the Mavericks coming together out of need last February, and the success has evolved even quicker than the most rosy, blue-eyed optimist could’ve envisioned.

The Mavericks have enabled Irving to be his best self on the floor, and he’s evolved into a leader on a team with many young pieces.

“It was such a quick process, man,” Irving told Yahoo Sports recently. “I was in West Orange High School in New Jersey working on my game and trying to figure out what this trade would lead me to, to getting a call from Dallas and, in a blink of an eye, here I am in L.A. playing the Clippers the next night.”

The…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-06-04 21:10:21

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