Celtics News: Kyrie Irving Thought About Punching Payton Pritchard in NBA Finals

The Boston Celtics may not have gotten the job done this past season, but that was certainly the case in 2024.

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The Celtics reached the mountaintop in 2024 after defeating the Dallas Mavericks in five games to win their 18th title in franchise history. Boston was favored to do the same thing this past season; however, due to injuries and other factors, they fell short of becoming repeat champions.

Nonetheless, the 2024 banner will forever hang in the rafters, and while the match was an interesting one, the Celtics took care of business against the Mavericks quickly. There were numerous storylines in that series, with the main one being the Celtics' encounter with their former star guard, Kyrie Irving.

Now with the Mavericks, Irving was seeking a measure of revenge against his former team. His departure from Boston was far from smooth, and the relationship between him and the Celtics — along with their fans — remains fractured to this day. Still, Boston did an impressive job neutralizing the former NBA champion when it mattered most.

In a recent stream with Jaylen Brown, Irving admitted that there was tension between himself and Celtics guard Payton Pritchard.

Irving admitted that he and Pritchard nearly boiled over at one point during the series.

“We were going to halftime. I ain’t gonna lie to you, I thought about swinging. One time, just to see where he was at.  I thought about swinging one time,” Irving said. "He would not touch. I thought about swinging half-court shot that happens two times.”