‘Less Human, More Robotic’: Kyrie Irving Opens Up On Retirement, Says Gambling And Social Media Have Changed NBA
DALLAS — Kyrie Irving does not see himself playing in the NBA into his 40s, the Dallas Mavericks guard said after practice Monday, pointing to how much the league has changed since he entered it.
Irving, 34, is in his 16th NBA season. The Cleveland Cavaliers drafted him first overall out of Duke in 2011, when he was 19. In 2024-25, his last season before the knee injury, Irving averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 50 games and was selected to his ninth All-Star Game.
Kyrie Irving On Basketball As An Eternal Flame
Irving does not compare the length of his career with anyone else’s, he said. He missed all of last season while recovering from a torn left ACL.
“I love those guys, but I don’t share the same sentiments as them in certain cases,” Irving said. “I think I’ve been able to put the NBA in perspective, coming in at 19. Sixteen years, I don’t look at it as comparing my years to other people, but just how much love do I still have for it? And it’s not just for basketball. Like, basketball is eternal flame. I’m always going to be around it.”
“I love playing outside with my kids, with kids in the park. I love being in my backyard, [lowering] the rim, still dunking on people,” Irving continued. “Some of the little things that people kind of forget about, the small hoops in the house with my cousins, just teaching them the game, small hoop, playing with my son.”
Irving On Gambling, Social Media, And The NBA’s Changes
In October 2025, federal prosecutors charged an NBA head coach and a player in separate gambling cases. The NBA that Irving plays in now is not the one he fell in love with as a kid, he said.
“But in terms of the NBA schedule and things of that nature, I think you’ve got to really be in love with that too,” Irving explained. “The weightlifting, the unseen hours, kind of the media prep, just going in and just being ready to play at a high level. And then also you have social media and gambling right now, which is just like running rampant. And it’s not the same NBA that I fell in love with as a kid.”
“And I’m very much aware of that. And I don’t say that as a negative thing,” Irving added. “It’s just when I came in, we were not doing, like, gambling meetings, kind of talking about these things that are going on, social media. Mental health was like this foreign subject, like nobody ever talked about in 2011. So I think the game has changed. It’s become less human. It’s more robotic.”
Irving still loves the playing and the competition, he said. He turns 35 in March.
“And I think my next few years, I kind of look at it as, like, do I really love that aspect of it? I love the playing, I love the competition, but do I love all the hoopla that goes into it?” Irving said. “And the next generation is looking at it, and they’re making money younger. Addictions are running rampant, and I just think I’m fully aware of just my position, and my purpose is bigger than just playing in the NBA.”
“So basketball is an eternal flame. It’ll always go, but I just don’t see myself playing in the NBA at 42, 43,” Irving continued. “Shout out to the head honcho over there, still going, longevity. And even Steph, [LeBron] James, [KD]. Like, I looked at those guys like big brothers for a while. But now that I’m in this age of 34, 35, like, I love my manhood and growing as a man more importantly than just growing as a basketball player.”
Irving is set to play his first regular-season game since the knee injury Wednesday, when Dallas opens at the Houston Rockets. Tip-off at Toyota Center is set for 7:30 p.m. CT.
