The Dallas Mavericks took a chance on Kyrie Irving in 2023. Before they traded for him, Irving had a different image when he was with the Brooklyn Nets. It all started with the COVID-19 vaccine, which Irving did not want to have. However, it was required for people working in New York to have the vaccine for them to be able to be cleared for work.
Unfortunately for the Nets, Irving did not want to have the vaccine. The two sides had a serious disagreement as a result of this. The 2016 champion was also suspended for five games after sharing an antisemitic movie on his social media account.
Eventually, he was allowed to play in the NBA. However, the damage was already done, and he requested to be traded.
Things changed when he was with the Dallas Mavericks, though. His new teammates spoke highly of him and loved having him in the locker room. This changed the fans’ perception of the nine-time All-Star.
Mark Cuban, a minority owner of the Mavericks, discussed how Irving was portrayed differently by the media and the institutions that had collaborated with him. Cuban pointed out that not only do his teammates love him, but also the players he plays against.
“Everybody called him a cancer,” Cuban said when he appeared on the show “Gil’s Arena.”
“Everywhere he went, they were ready to get rid of him, but every player I talked to loved him.”
“I would start watching his old games—after every game, guys dap up and trade jerseys. With Kyrie, people were hugging him like he was a cousin they hadn’t seen in forever, right? They just loved the guy. And everyone I talked to said the same thing.”
Dallas Mavericks’ Klay Thompson plans to play for the BIG3 after retiring from the NBA
It could take a while until Klay Thompson retires from basketball. However, he’s already starting to make plans for when his NBA career is over. Thompson claims that he would like to play for the BIG 3, a 3v3 league founded by rapper Ice Cube.
Retired basketball stars are usually the ones playing in the league. In the most recent season, they featured Dwight Howard, Michael Beasley and Joe Johnson, to name a few.
Thompson could soon be added to the pool of players. During his interview with Michael Cooper on the show “Showtime,” the four-time champion talked about potentially playing for the BIG3.
“Absolutely, especially with that four-point ball,” Thompson said. “That gets me excited. I want the BIG3 to go international. That’d be so fun to see the BIG3 go overseas and do a tour.”
Fans might be surprised to see Thompson playing in the BIG3 one day.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
