It will only take one possession with the ball in Kyrie Irving’s hands during the 2024 NBA Finals to realize Celtics fans still aren’t over the All-Star guard’s exit from Boston.
Although it may feel like a decade ago, we’re only five seasons removed from Irving’s two-year stint with the Celtics.
The star guard was acquired by Boston in a 2017 blockbuster trade that sent former All-NBA guard Isaiah Thomas to the Cavaliers. Irving was supposed to be the superstar to take the Celtics’ young core over the top in pursuit of a championship, but the team never reached the potential that it had on paper.
After two seasons of injuries and on- and off-court issues, Irving elected to leave Boston in free agency despite making promises that he’d stay. Here’s what led to the falling out of his time with the Celtics. Why did Kyrie Irving leave the Celtics?
Injuries plagued the Celtics during Irving’s first season in Boston. All-Star forward Gordon Hayward went down with a season-ending leg injury in the first game, then Irving underwent season-ending knee surgery just over a week before the playoffs started.
The Celtics still reached Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals without their two All-Stars, as rookie Jayson Tatum and second-year Jaylen Brown began to emerge into the players they would become today. That left confusion in the locker room as the team suddenly had too many mouths to feed from a scoring standpoint.
Irving entered a contract year in 2018-19 and decided not to sign an extension before the start of the season. Despite that decision, he pledged his loyalty to Boston during a preseason fan event that led Celtics faithful to believe he’d re-sign at the end of the year.
“If you guys will have me back, I plan on re-signing here,” Irving told the TD Garden crowd.
He doubled down in an interview with the media the following day, saying he wanted his number retired in Boston.
“I have every intention of signing with Boston next year. I do have a dream of putting my No. 11 in the rafters one day if I’m so blessed to do that. … No disrespect to any other organizations, but here was a perfect fit,” Irving said.
