With the Dallas Mavericks, Kyrie Irving has appeared exceptionally proficient following a few rough stints.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Mavericks are one win from NBA Finals after impressive postseason run.
- Kyrie Irving has been crucial to the Mavericks’ success and is enjoying meaningful time in the community.
- Irving’s career journey led him to Dallas where he’s thrived and now aims for an NBA title with the franchise.
The Dallas Mavericks are on quite the run through the NBA postseason.
After entering the playoffs as the No. 5 seed in the West, the Mavericks have carved their way through the Western Conference, and now sit just one win away from a trip to the NBA Finals.
Kyrie Irving, playing his first full season in Dallas, has been crucial to the team’s success. After the Mavericks acquired Irving at the trade deadline last year, it wasn’t exactly clear how he would gel with superstar Luka Dončić in the Dallas backcourt.
While Dallas collapsed through the final stretch of the regular season in 2023 to miss the playoffs altogether, this year, the Mavericks have played some of the best team basketball in the NBA, and are on the cusp of their first run to a championship since 2011.
Speaking with the media after the Mavericks’ win on Sunday, Irving expressed how much his recent run in Dallas has meant to him.
“I feel like it’s a great chapter that’s being written right now. I’m enjoying every step of the way. I’m not taking anything for granted,” Irving said. “I’m enjoying the Dallas community and the fans here. We talked about this earlier in the season, just how much I felt embraced, but I think it’s gone a little deeper than that. It’s really helped me grow as a human being and find my peace out here.”
Irving said that in addition to the support he was feeling from the team and the community in Dallas, the climate was pretty helpful as well.
“It’s good to breathe fresh air and get outside,” Irving said. “Seasonal depression is real when you’re growing up up north. I spent 12 years in the Eastern Conference in three cold cities that deal with four seasons. You come out here, you’re able to get outside and ground yourself a little more, spend time with your family, watch your kids run outside.”
Irving Has Made Quite a Few Stops Throughout His NBA Career, But Found Something Special in Dallas
Irving’s move to Dallas is working out well for all involved.
Irving’s career has been a bit of a winding road.
After finding championship success early in his career alongside LeBron James with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Irving has hopped around the NBA a bit over the past seven seasons, spending time with the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets before ultimately landing with the Mavericks.
In both Boston and Brooklyn, Irving never found the success that he nor the team that acquired him had hoped for, even when paired with fellow superstars Kevin Durant and James Harden on the Nets.
But now with Dallas, Irving is playing free and clearly, feeling his best. Should he and the Mavericks be able to keep their run of hot play going, they’ll need just five more wins to lift the NBA title.
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