Mavericks' Kyrie Irving explains why he cried at free-throw line after tearing ACL

With the recent downtime, Irving was live on Twitch for about five hours over the weekend, and one of the things he explained was why he was crying at the free-throw line after the injury.

"I’m tearing up at the free throw line, and I could just sense that my body was in shock," Irving started. "And the moment that I got up there and dribbled, I was thinking about thanking God from the outset—right from the start. But I just started thinking about all my predecessors. Especially Kobe [Bryant]. You know, at that moment, I could feel the sense of—my season is done. I’m hurting. I’m crying. I got millions of people watching me. I got millions of people praying for me. I got millions of people that are involved in this journey with me—so they’re feeling the same pain that I’m feeling. They might not feel the physical pain, but they’re feeling the pain I’m feeling. And I just wanted to be strong."

Irving considers Lakers legend Kobe Bryant as one of his mentors and one of Bryant's most iconic moments is when he stepped to the free-throw line and sank both free throws after tearing his Achilles tendon. Irving's now teammate, Klay Thompson, did a similar thing when he tore his ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals. It elicits a rare sense of toughness and love of the game that few players could reach.

Kyrie Irving has been Dallas' emotional leader all season, rallying and being sympathetic with the fanbase after the organization shockingly traded away Luka Doncic in the middle of the season. He became such a beloved figure in the city, and it was saddening to see him go down in that fashion. There's a chance he's not able to play next season, as older and smaller guards can take a while to return from an ACL injury.