Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving. Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Incredible Kyrie Irving streak on the line in Game 1 of NBA Finals

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Jun 5, 2024 8:11 AM ET

The last time Kyrie Irving missed a free throw as a visiting player in Boston, Donald Trump was POTUS, Kevin Durant was a member of the Warriors and Robert Mugabe was still the dictator of Zimbabwe.

The streak got underway on May 25, 2017, when Irving — as a member of the Cavaliers — traveled to TD Garden for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The streak was put on hold for three years when he was a part of the Celtics. It resumed when he joined the Nets and traveled to Boston in 2020.

5/25/17: 2/2 FT (Cavs vs. Celtics)
12/25/20: 4/4 FT (Nets vs. Celtics)
5/28/21: 2/2 FT (Nets vs. Celtics)
5/30/21: 11/11 FT (Nets vs. Celtics)
3/6/22: 1/1 FT (Nets vs. Celtics)
4/17/22: 9/9 FT (Nets vs. Celtics)
4/20/22: 2/2 FT (Nets vs. Celtics)
2/1/23: 1/1 FT (Nets vs. Celtics)
3/1/24: 0/0 FT (Mavericks vs. Celtics)

All in all, Irving is 32-of-32 from the charity stripe as an away player at TD Garden since 2017 (h/t to Yahoo Sports' Tom Haberstroh for the stat).

NEW #BigNumber @YahooSports:

32.

Kyrie Irving hasn't missed a free throw in Boston as an opponent since 2017. A perfect 32 for 32.

Does that streak end on Thursday? pic.twitter.com/ZQYDf3UZ0c
— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) June 4, 2024

The incredible stat reinforces that Irving isn't a player who melts under the pressure of hostile crowds, and if anything, rises to the occasion in the face of adversity.

The star guard has the opportunity to continue his streak when his Mavericks travel to the Celtics for Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals on Thursday.

In the lead-up to the game, Irving has said that he expects his former team's fan base to show him no mercy, but he doesn't plan to retaliate by flipping the finger like he did in 2022. Instead, he plans to be the "voice of peace" his young squad needs.

"It's going to be a hectic environment, but I'm looking forward to it and I see it as a healthy relationship to have with the fans," Irving said of his relationship with Boston fans.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

More must-reads: