Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving may have changed. When it comes to Celtics, he earned the wrath

Of the notables who have come and gone from Boston, that city hates Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving almost as much as it despised King George III, General Charles Cornwallis and Benedict Arnold.

Irving squeezed 20 years of drama in his two seasons in Boston, and Celtics fans have long memories of Mr. Irving’s “exciting” tenure.

Irving and the Mavericks will play the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night in Boston.

Irving is braced for Boston’s “best,” which if you know anything about the history of that city and its sports teams it can be the worst. Much like Philadelphia and New York, Boston is one of those towns that relishes its “horrible” reputation.

However bad Irving thinks he might hear it from the Boston fans, the standard for players in his situation is the “Ralph Sampson Treatment.”

In the 1986 NBA Finals between Boston and Houston, Rockets center Ralph Sampson got into a fight in Game 5 with Celtics guard Jerry Sichting. The series returned to the Boston Garden for Game 6, and Celtics fans were primed for Sampson.

Fans wore T-shirts that read, “ “Ralph Sampson is a sissy.” That was not the worst of it. From the second deck, fans hung a mannequin with Sampson’s name and jersey number.

Irving will not get that, but this will not be some love fest.

As much as Irving has matured, evolved and changed since he left Boston in the summer of 2019, even his biggest defenders have to admit some of this is on him. You can still be a fan and a supporter of someone while acknowledging their role in the disintegration of a relationship.

On Monday after the conclusion of the Mavs’ practice, Irving spoke candidly and eloquently to the media for about 20 minutes. The man can talk. Whether you believe the talk is your call.

With Luka Doncic as the No. 1 on the Mavericks, and playing in a community where basketball is a distant second to football, Irving is in the ideal situation. Maybe he knows that. Maybe he’s full of it, and he will change his mind in the next year or so.

When he forced his way out of Cleveland, in August of 2017, and was traded to Boston he did so because he wanted to be the Hero that no one, including Iron Man, can be next to LeBron James.

In October of 2018, Kyrie told the Celtics fans on Fan Appreciation Night in a fan Q & A that he intended to re-sign with the team after that season.

A few days later, he told the Boston media: “I do have a dream of putting my No. 11 in the rafters one day if I’m so blessed to do that. I’ve worked my tail off, obviously a lot of great players have come before me, but to throw my name in Boston Celtics tradition and history is something I’m glad I can do. And I’m planning on doing so.”

“Honestly, thinking about starting over was just a (bleep) thought. Honestly. It just was like, man, I do not want to move again. I do not want to uproot my family and just be dealing with everything new again. No disrespect to any other organizations, but here was a perfect fit.”

The “perfect fit” lasted two years, when he left Boston to sign a four-year contract with the Brooklyn Nets.

If some of those words from Irving’s time in Boston sound familiar to Mavericks fans, they should. Some of this reads like he said just this season about his relationship with the Mavericks.

The proponent says, “That was a long time ago. Let it go.” They’re right.

On Monday, Irving was deliberately vague about his time with Boston, and specifically with Celtics’ star players Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. One of the reasons that Irving wanted to leave Boston was a strained relationship with some teammates; sounds like a lot of alpha dog drama. Or Desperate Housewives.

On Monday, he said he gets along with all of those players; that, eventually, the specifics that led to his departure will get out. That won’t be today.

Game 1 of these Finals will not be his first trip back to Boston.

In May of 2021, he made a point to step on the Celtics’ logo at mid court after his Nets beat the Celtics in Game 4 of a first round playoff series. A fan then threw a water bottle at Irving’s head.

The next year, he called Boston fans a “scorned girlfriend;” during a game in April of 2022 he “pointed” his middle finger a couple of times at Celtics fans. He said on Monday that’s one he regrets.

Boston fans don’t need to give Irving the Ralph Sampson treatment, or throw anything to let him know how they feel.

In the sports world, there is a “right way” to give it to players, and Irving is braced for it.

All of this was a long time ago, but this is sports, in Boston, and he earned some of this.

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