Kyrie Irving’s redemption tour continues with a return trip to Boston for the NBA Finals

Just a year ago, the thought of the Mavericks playing in the 2024 NBA Finals would’ve gotten you laughed out of the room.

Despite acquiring Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets near the trade deadline, the Mavericks missed the playoffs last season. Placing another star guard beside Luka Doncic didn’t pay immediate dividends and it was hard to see a path from missing the play-in game to competing for a title in just one season.

Dallas has since made a number of cagey moves to quickly build a title contender from drafting Dereck Lively II in the lottery, to signing Derrick Jones Jr. in free agency to acquiring P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford from the Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards in February.

All these moves helped Dallas reach this point. But make no mistake, the biggest and most impactful move was bringing Irving to Dallas when his value and standing in the NBA was never lower. Without Irving buying in on and off the court, none of the other moves work with the same effectiveness.

Now it’s only fitting that Irving returns to the place where his career began to take a turn for the worse.

A journey of growth

After falling to the Kevin Durant-led Golden State Warriors in the 2017 Finals, Irving asked out of Cleveland and eventually landed with the Boston Celtics. At the time it was a no-brainer move for the Celtics as they upgraded over Isaiah Thomas for the taller and more talented Irving.

Irving’s tenure in Boston wasn’t as problematic as his stint in Brooklyn, but when he left the Celtics in free agency there was a prevailing feeling that not only did Boston underachieve, but Irving could’ve been the biggest reason for it. The Celtics had two playoff runs while Irving was there.

In the first run, Irving was hurt and the Celtics still made the Eastern Conference finals. The next year Irving was available, but Boston crumbled in the playoffs against Milwaukee and Irving was gone soon.

It was at that point that Irving began to develop a reputation of being a bad teammate, which was only heightened with the repeated missteps in Brooklyn. However, much time has passed since then and Irving is nowhere near the same player or person he was.

A big portion of that growth he credits to his time in Boston where he was thrust into a leadership role with such a young team.

“We had a great opportunity to do some special things, but it was cut short based on personal reasons on my end,” Irving said. “The one thing I look back on in my time in Boston, the greatest thing I learned was being able to manage not only my emotions, but just what’s going on on a day to day basis as a leader of a team.”

Irving said it was difficult to leave players like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford and Marcus Smart (now with the Grizzlies) as they were able to form real bonds during his time with the Celtics.

He was in the midst of his own spiritual journey that included him diving deeper into his heritage and that of his parents plus the natural maturation process even young man goes through. The conversation regarding his departure stung Irving and learning to let go was a major lesson he took from the fallout these past few seasons.

“I didn’t mind after a few years of taking the brunt of the blame,” Irving said. “I’m one of the best players in the world, so I know what comes with that fair criticism. But a little more grace could’ve been extended my way especially with what I was dealing with at the time as a human being.”

What followed in Brooklyn has been well documented. Injury riddled seasons, a suspension for posting a link to a documentary with anti-semitic views and missing games due to his stance on people “losing their jobs” because of the COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic.

The weight of the past few seasons played out in the 2022 playoffs when Irving and the Nets met the Celtics in the first round and Irving clashed with a fan resulting in him throwing up the middle finger and being fined $50,000 for the gesture. It’s not something this version of Irving is proud of.

“The last time in Boston when everyone saw me flip off the birds and kind of lose my (expletive), that wasn’t a great reflection of who I am and how I like to compete,” Irving said. “It wasn’t a great reflection to the young generation on controlling your emotions no matter what they’re yelling at you.

“I’ve been able to grow since then. Of course it’s going to be a hectic environment and I see it as a healthy relationship I have with the fans. I almost think about a gladiator winning the crowd over, it’s good to hear the T.D. Garden silent when you’re playing well.”

That type of perspective isn’t something Irving had just a few years ago, but now that he has it he also has the necessary emotional tools to withstand the outside noise. Irving said he’s ready to take the brunt of the yells and remarks from the Boston fanbase and it’s that type of attitude that has helped Irving win over the Dallas locker room.

“He’s been able to be a vocal leader,” Mavs forward P.J. Washington said. “He’s been in every position when it comes to the NBA, he’s an icon. So everybody looks up to him and everybody listens when he talks. Just him being able to calm everybody down and be a great leader, a great vet I think it’s been good for all of us.”

To become the person he is now wasn’t as simple as just letting the days go by while he grew older. Irving put in the work, though he actually got some help from the state of Texas.

The impact of Dallas

It’s after Game 3 of the Western Conference finals and the Dallas Mavericks all but know they’ll be playing in the NBA Finals soon. Irving is coming off a spectacular performance where he scored 33 points to help lead Dallas to 116-107 win.

Irving is in a particularly good mood as expected, with a cheerful demeanor and his wife and children off to the side. Irving is asked how much the Dallas organization and the community at large means to him.

In typical Irving fashion, he ponders for a second and then offers a thoughtful, emotional answer.

“I feel like it’s a great chapter being written right now, I’m enjoying every step of the way,” Irving said. “I’m enjoying the hot weather right now. I’m enjoying the Dallas community and the fans here. I’ve talked about how I felt embraced, but I think it goes a little deeper than that.

“It’s really helped me grow as a human being and find my peace out here. It’s good to breathe fresh air and get outside. Seasonal depression when you’re growing up north. I’ve been in three cold cities, but you come out here you’re able to get outside and ground yourself a little bit more.”

The gray skies and concrete jungle feel of Boston and New York City can wear on any person, especially one as in tune with his emotions as Irving.

As much Irving has enjoyed the constant sunshine, his family is enjoying it even more.

“You watch your kids run outside, your wife is happy,” Irving says with a smile. “You know what they say about a happy wife? A happy life. I don’t take those things for granted, just being able to grow and understand all these things don’t happen without a lot of the work that goes unseen. The inner work, the spiritual work and enjoying the game and putting that in perspective.”

It’s at that moment that Irving’s wife enters the press conference from the side with one child in her arms and the other clinging to her leg staring intently at their father finishing up his press conference. They’re a big reason Irving has found his maturity and peace.

This is who Irving is now. A mature family man, that still has these intriguing and different views on everything from basketball to religion and mental health.

“What he’s doing is rewriting his journey,” coach Jason Kidd said earlier this postseason. “It’s a beautiful thing what he’s doing. He’s worldly, which is a beautiful thing too. Most of us aren’t, we’re stuck in our sport. He can talk about other things and sometimes that scares people.”

Now the only terror Irving is inflicting is on opposing defenses while still being true to himself and maintaining the emotions that make him the man and the player he is today. Irving is the best version of himself and as a result the Mavericks are also the best version of themselves.