His daughter in his arms, Kyrie Irving enters the locker room to the ovation of his teammates. “Don’t do that guys, you’ll make me cry!” Do not do that… “ he asks them. On edge, the All-Star leader experiences this playoff run as redemption. There was this failed move to the Nets, this terrible record after three months at the Mavericks, and then, this return to the forefront. For his teammates, his loved ones and his fans who never gave up on him.
“I want to thank each and every one of you. All your sacrifices, everything you do when no one is watching. I truly appreciate it ” he said in the locker room. “All the words of encouragement come from far and wide…Continue to stay positive, the work is not done. But we can really celebrate.”
It’s been a long road…
Near the scorer's table, we saw him wiping away tears, but also hugging his camp. A real relief when we thought Mark Cuban was crazy when he went to get him, then extended him last summer.
“It was hugging my family, then going to hug other family members in the locker room, everyone congratulating each other…” he says about this immense emotion. “I had to improvise a speech and I tried my best not to let a few tears fall, because I feel like it's been a long time since I've experienced that. Being back in this position, being back in the conference final [Ouest]. The road has been long. I’m grateful to have these guys on my side.”
To Jason Kidd, Kyrie Irving will confide that this qualification was “the hardest thing in his life”.
” Really ? » his coach asks him. “But you won a title. It was easy ? In fact, it will be a great story to tell your children, to tell them how difficult it is to win. Nothing is easy in life. I just told him to put it on the same level as the hardest things you'll ever have to endure… Yes, he's probably exhausted. Yes, he probably feels like he could have taken more shots. But he did his part to help the team win defensively and he took the two-man catches as well.”
The Mavericks’ “glue guy”
It’s very simple, for Jason Kidd, Kyrie Irving is the “glue guy” of the Mavericks in this series. “When we look at this series, it’s true that he didn’t have any cards in attack, but he was the “glue guy” of this series. He made sure everyone stayed united, everyone stayed positive. Yes, it was the hardest thing, but it's getting harder and harder. And that’s what makes things fun for the bigger players.”
Reminder, Kyrie Irving has still not lost a game when his team can complete a series. That’s 14 series!
