Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving reflected on the last several seasons, and his entire NBA career, after the Mavericks advanced to the NBA Finals on Thursday night by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
Irving, who last made the Finals with the Cleveland Cavaliers, shared that he remembers his early years in Cleveland when the franchise struggled before eventually making several trips in a row to the NBA Finals.
“I had three years of losing,” Irving said. “I had three years of losing in Cleveland as people like to remind me of where I did nothing without certain guys on the team. So, I like to relish in those challenges because when you are a young player you do take it for granted to a certain degree. But now that I’m in my 30s, and I’m able to kinda stand on my own square, more comfortably, more confidently – and know what my presence holds, know what my leadership is capable of doing when I’m around good people and they’re supporting me, selflessly. You just look back at all the failures, just on the other side of success.
“Just continue to chop wood, carry water, stay poised. Make sure we keep the main thing the main thing and acknowledge how far we’ve grown and how long it took to get to this moment. So, I try to quantify the last seven years, but it’s really been my whole entire career. This is a long career, and I like to look at it that way – it’s a journey.”
While Irving didn’t specifically name LeBron James or Kevin Love, it appears that the veteran guard was referring to the lack of success that Cleveland had before those two players came to the franchise to form a Big 3 with Irving.
James returned after playing with the Miami Heat for a four-year period, and the Cavs promptly went on to make four straight NBA Finals, winning a title with James and Irving in the 2015-16 season.
That season featured a historic comeback, as the Cavs erased a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Golden State Warriors in the Finals.
Irving has since played for the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, but he had not reached the Finals again until this season with the Mavericks.
An eight-time All-Star, Irving has been an integral part of Dallas’ success this season, helping it go from the No. 5 seed in the West to the NBA Finals. Playing alongside superstar Luka Doncic, Irving has shown that he’s one of the best running mates to have in the NBA.
During the playoffs this season, Irving is averaging 22.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 48.5 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from 3-point range.
Even though Irving didn’t make an NBA Finals without James and Love for several seasons, he now has a chance to add to his legacy if Dallas can beat the Celtics in the Finals this season.
Boston had the best record in the NBA during the regular season, but Irving and the Mavericks have shown all playoffs that they’re not going to go down easily. Game 1 between Dallas and Boston is scheduled to be played on Thursday, June 6.