After last year's disappointment, Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks are in the NBA Finals.
The Mavs acquired Irving at last year's trade deadline, hoping to make a deep playoff run. However, the Mavs went cold and missed the basketball postseason.
However, they returned with a vengeance this season and are four wins away from their first title since 2011, against Irving's former Boston Celtics.
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LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kyrie Irving #11 of the Dallas Mavericks watch during the game on January 17, 2024 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Irving headed to Boston after playing with LeBron James in Cleveland, and the duo won a title in 2016. But Irving headed East, and when things fell apart there (and later in Brooklyn), he landed in Dallas.
There has been a lot of speculation about James and Irving's relationship since the Celtics-Cavs trade, but James has nothing but love for his former teammate.
“There was nothing on the basketball court that Kyrie couldn't do. And sitting here watching him, I'm playing so fucking happy and so proud to see him continue his growth and whatever.” “The case may be, and at the same time, I'm so angry that I'm no longer his running mate,” James said on his podcast with his future head coach. JJ Redick.
Kyrie Irving #2 and LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrate after Game 4 of the 2017 NBA Finals on June 9, 2017 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
James added that he was “disappointed” that the Los Angeles Lakers didn't get him at the deadline and further praised Irving.
“I have so many words to praise Kyrie that I end up without any, because he is the most talented player the NBA has ever seen,” James joked. “He has the best gifts I've ever seen in any NBA player. I've never seen a guy in my NBA life who feels better sometimes shooting with his left hand than with his lead hand. If Kyrie is offside , In a right-handed game, he will literally go exclusively to the left hand. I've never seen anything like that.”
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) reacts as teammate Tim Hardaway Jr. runs after Irving scored the game-winning shot that ended the second half of an NBA basketball game against Denver Nuggets in Dallas, Sunday, March 17, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
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The NBA Finals begin on Thursday in Boston, as they seek their first title in 16 years.
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