“ Every time I walk into this room, I look at this banner and it brings back all these emotions. » Going back through Cleveland and its Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse always has a special flavor for Kyrie Irving. “ I'm grateful for my time here and I really want to get that across to the Cavs fans and franchise », Adds the Mavs player (30 points last night), traveling to Ohio last night.
The banner to which the former Cavs player is referring is of course that of the 2016 title. And if, in the future, the No. 2 that he used to wear here came to float next to this banner historical? There is no shortage of protagonists in favor of his jersey being retired.
Starting with his evening opponent, Donovan Mitchell. “ His jersey should be retired, that's for sure. To be able to do what he did at the highest level, year after year, to go from a team that wasn't winning to having such an impact, I think that's something truly remarkable. “, judges the Cavs guardin reference to the first years of Kyrie Irving's drought, before the return of LeBron James.
Author of 31 points in his team's miraculous victory, the former Jazz player added: “ Obviously, what he did in the playoffs during his career and in Cleveland, where he brought a title to the city, I think K-Love (Kevin Love), he and Bron should all have their jerseys retired. It's the only title in the franchise's history, and it has a lot to do with it. This is something that should never be overlooked. »
Kevin Love was already in favor
His speech resembles the one posted by Kevin Love, a little over a year ago. “ The question doesn't even arise for me. He must be up there. He made the most important shot in franchise history and one of the most important shots in Finals history when you think about how it all happened: what it meant for the city, for his journey, LeBron's and everything else, including that Golden State team that became a dynasty and was historically strong », then recontextualized the interior.
Beyond this final victory, Kyrie Irving obtained four of his eight career All-Star selections in Ohio, his rookie of the year title or even one of his three All-NBA selections.
Except that while the leader/back was certainly drafted by Cleveland in 2011 (1st choice), he ultimately only stayed there “only” during his first six seasons. And as the first three were not famous collectively (21, 24 then 33 victories), it was only with the return of LeBron James that he was really able to shine in Ohio, over a very short period. of three seasons, before he requested his transfer to get out of the shadow of the “King”.
“ That would be very significant. I didn't think much about it. I am not indifferent to the questions you ask Donovan. I don't want him to answer these questions because he's new here and trying to write his story, I give him a lot of credit », Posts the 31-year-old player today, aware that it is not up to one of his successors to decide the fate of his old jersey.
| Kyrie Irving | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2011-12 | KEY | 51 | 31 | 46.9 | 39.9 | 87.2 | 0.9 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 5.4 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 18.5 |
| 2012-13 | KEY | 59 | 35 | 45.2 | 39.1 | 85.5 | 0.6 | 3.1 | 3.7 | 5.9 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 0.4 | 22.5 |
| 2013-14 | KEY | 71 | 35 | 43.0 | 35.8 | 86.1 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 3.7 | 6.1 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 20.8 |
| 2014-15 | KEY | 75 | 36 | 46.8 | 41.5 | 86.3 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 5.2 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 21.7 |
| 2015-16 | KEY | 53 | 32 | 44.8 | 32.2 | 88.5 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 4.7 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 19.6 |
| 2016-17 | KEY | 72 | 35 | 47.3 | 40.1 | 90.5 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 5.8 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 25.2 |
| 2017-18 | BOS | 60 | 32 | 49.1 | 40.8 | 88.9 | 0.6 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 2.0 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 24.4 |
| 2018-19 | BOS | 67 | 33 | 48.7 | 40.1 | 87.3 | 1.1 | 3.9 | 5.0 | 6.9 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 23.8 |
| 2019-20 | BRK | 20 | 33 | 47.8 | 39.4 | 92.2 | 1.1 | 4.1 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 27.4 |
| 2020-21 | BRK | 54 | 35 | 50.6 | 40.2 | 92.2 | 1.0 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 26.9 |
| 2021-22 | BRK | 29 | 38 | 46.9 | 41.8 | 91.5 | 0.6 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 5.8 | 2.8 | 1.4 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 27.5 |
| 2022-23 * | All Teams | 60 | 37 | 49.4 | 37.9 | 90.5 | 1.0 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 2.8 | 1.1 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 27.1 |
| 2022-23 * | BRK | 40 | 37 | 48.6 | 37.4 | 88.3 | 1.0 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 27.1 |
| 2022-23 * | DAL | 20 | 38 | 51.0 | 39.2 | 94.7 | 1.1 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 27.0 |
| 2023-24 | DAL | 35 | 34 | 49.3 | 42.1 | 88.5 | 0.7 | 4.5 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 25.7 |
| Total | 706 | 34 | 47.3 | 39.3 | 88.5 | 0.8 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 23.5 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
