Kyrie Irving hits back at reports about friction with ex-Celtics teammates

Kyrie Irving thinks his interactions with some of his former teammates on Thursday night is proof that previous reports about him are wrong.

Irving played in Boston for two seasons before leaving the Celtics for the Nets in free agency in 2019. He’s now in his second season with Brooklyn.

Throughout his final season with the Celtics, and after he left, there was plenty of criticism surrounding his leadership. One prominent Celtics player seemed to take aim at him. A former Celtics player said Irving was a “bad leader” and “disrespectful.”

But Irving shared some hugs with his former teammates after the Nets beat the Celtics on Thursday night. He believes that proves all the previous stories and reports were wrong.

“Big surprise, huh?” Irving said after the game. “To a lot of people? All that (expletive)-talking about me and all the relationships I have with every teammate of mine. I’m glad we get to see it every single game that I’ve got some great people out here.”

Don’t worry, Kyrie. Being cordial with some former teammates doesn’t suddenly mean everything was rosy. It doesn’t erase the questioning of coaches or the year of rumors you were going to leave the team. None of that changes.

Irving has to be happy about his team being 25-13, while Boston is struggling at 19-18.