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CLEVELAND — Kyrie Irving played in front of a Cleveland Cavaliers crowd celebrating the 10th anniversary of the 2016 championship Saturday night, and he said afterward that he thinks that title was one of the hardest in NBA history.
Saturday’s game, a 127-117 Cleveland win over Irving’s Dallas Mavericks, was the second of three 10th Anniversary Celebration games on the Cavaliers’ schedule. The first was Nov. 7 against New York, and the third is Dec. 12 against Golden State. The team has said it will recognize members of the 2016 roster through in-game moments, giveaways, and concourse activations.
Cleveland beat Golden State in seven games in the 2016 NBA Finals after trailing the series 3-1. Irving made the go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute of Game 7 on June 19, 2016, and the title ended the city’s 52-year major championship drought.
Kyrie Irving On The Cleveland Reception
Irving scored 34 points Saturday, 28 of them after halftime. He said this reception felt different from his earlier returns because the flow of the game gave him time to settle in.
“This one felt a lot different than the other times, just because of maybe just the patience, in terms of like the game flow,” Irving said. “Last time, you just kind of do a quick coming out of a timeout, but this time I got to really settle in, really ground myself, and embrace the support that’s here for me. It’s been 10 years, but it’s been a great reflection point for me to be able to come back and be able to again receive that support in a different way.”
“I’m so grateful for all the Cavs fans, Cleveland in general, Ohio, wrapping their arms around me as well, and also sticking it through with me as I was a young person, just launching shots, trying to be the best player in the world, and trying to be in the MVP conversations at a very young age,” Irving continued. “And I felt like I was on that trajectory.”
“But I think when I look at it now, I’m just grateful that I was playing against the best of the best, going against best teams in the world, getting everybody’s best shot for about three straight years, and a lot of young players never get to experience that,” Irving added. “Being on the hunt for championships every single year. So I take those little moments and try my best to connect it to the fans here as well, because we couldn’t have done it without them. Everybody’s just well wishing us, praying for us. Fifty-two years, long, long period of time waiting for a championship, and we did it.”
Irving qualified his ranking of the 2016 title as he gave it.
“And I think that’s one of the hardest championships. I think. I’m not gonna say it is. I said I think,” Irving noted. “Personally, I think it’s one of the hardest championships ever in NBA history that we got to accomplish.”
Irving Remembers The Pressure Behind The Banner
Irving fractured his kneecap in Game 1 of the 2015 Finals and did not return until December of the 2015-16 season. Irving said the banner brings back how tough that season was.
“Man, I think it’s like you don’t want to be too satisfied, but it’s just that internal. I was talking to Griff about it. It’s just like we have so many expectations for each other and, obviously, we talk about some of the external people that we were doing it for, and the fans,” Irving explained. “But like, when you’re a player and you’re a hooper and you’re in championship contention, it’s so many different conversations that are had that are just man and man, or man and woman in general, but like man and man, teammate to teammate, that they’re not pretty. They’re not. You don’t go home happy all the time, even when you’re winning, because you feel like you still can continue to get better.”
“So that’s what I remember most is that championship was so tough. I came back from injury, fractured kneecap that year. Wasn’t playing well when I first came back. Wasn’t closing out the fourth quarter as well. And I just felt like there was a lot of pressure on me to perform well,” Irving continued. “And I think towards the end of the season, I started catching my groove, and that’s when I got my second wind in the season. And that’s why you saw so many great performances, not only for me but for my teammates.”
Blame inside that locker room, Irving said, usually landed on him or LeBron James.
“And that’s what I reminisce about when I look at that championship is all those battles in Detroit. All those regular season battles where we’re going against Atlanta Hawks, and I’m just like, we lose by 31, and then everybody’s tearing us down, and then we got to come back, and it’s just like it’s all on me at times, or it’s all on Bron, or it’s all on somebody else, K Love,” Irving added. “And it’s like the blame game split between us three, but it usually came between like Bron and me, and it just prepared me for like you got to be the MFer in this league. Like you can’t, you got to, you got to have short-term memory. When you’re at the top, everybody’s competing. You gotta welcome in that fair criticism.”
Dallas fell to 7-6. The Mavericks visit the Boston Celtics on Sunday at TD Garden, the second night of a back-to-back. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. CT.
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