It will only take one possession with the ball in Kyrie Irving's hands during the 2024 NBA Finals to realize Celtics fans still aren't over the All-Star guard's exit from Boston.
Although it may feel like a decade ago, we're only five seasons removed from Irving's two-year stint with the Celtics.
The star guard was acquired by Boston in a 2017 blockbuster trade that sent former All-NBA guard Isaiah Thomas to the Cavaliers. Irving was supposed to be the superstar to take the Celtics' young core over the top in pursuit of a championship, but the team never reached the potential that it had on paper.
After two seasons of injuries and on- and off-court issues, Irving elected to leave Boston in free agency despite making promises that he'd stay. Here's what led to the falling out of his time with the Celtics.
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Why did Kyrie Irving leave the Celtics?
Injuries plagued the Celtics during Irving's first season in Boston. All-Star forward Gordon Hayward went down with a season-ending leg injury in the first game, then Irving underwent season-ending knee surgery just over a week before the playoffs started.
The Celtics still reached Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals without their two All-Stars, as rookie Jayson Tatum and second-year Jaylen Brown began to emerge into the players they would become today. That left confusion in the locker room as the team suddenly had too many mouths to feed from a scoring standpoint.
Irving entered a contract year in 2018-19 and decided not to sign an extension before the start of the season. Despite that decision, he pledged his loyalty to Boston during a preseason fan event that led Celtics faithful to believe he'd re-sign at the end of the year.
"If you guys will have me back, I plan on re-signing here," Irving told the TD Garden crowd.
He doubled down in an interview with the media the following day, saying he wanted his number retired in Boston.
"I have every intention of signing with Boston next year. I do have a dream of putting my No. 11 in the rafters one day if I'm so blessed to do that. ... No disrespect to any other organizations, but here was a perfect fit," Irving said.
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The season did not end up being all roses the way Irving or the Celtics had hoped.
Irving quickly became irritated with the situation and Boston media. He called out the lack of veteran leadership on the roster after a poor stretch to start the season in November, then specifically targeted the younger players in a postgame rant in January.
By February, Irving was already walking back his comments about wanting to re-sign in Boston.
"I'm going to do what's best for my career," Irving said. "I don't owe anybody sh—."
After a rough playoff performance and second-round exit, the writing was on the wall that Irving would not be returning to the Celtics. He later admitted he had a lot going on outside of basketball — including a death in his family — that led to his chaotic second season in Boston.
Celtics fans have still not forgiven Irving for double-crossing his preseason promise, though.
Kyrie Irving Celtics stats
Irving's time with the Celtics isn't painted very fondly, but his stats might be better than you remember.
Irving was an All-Star starter in both seasons with the Celtics and made All-NBA Second Team in 2018-19.
| Year | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | TOV | PPG |
| 2017-18 | 60 | 32.2 | 49.1 | 40.8 | 88.9 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 24.4 |
| 2018-19 | 67 | 33.0 | 48.7 | 40.1 | 87.3 | 5.0 | 6.9 | 1.5 | 2.6 | 23.8 |
His playoff performance was one to forget, though.
After missing the entire 2018 NBA Playoffs with the Celtics due to injury, Irving had one of the worst postseason performances of his career in 2019. He posted playoff career lows in field goal and 3-point percentage and averaged a playoff career-high in turnovers. The Celtics swept the Pacers in the first round but were handled by the Bucks in five games in the second round.
| Year | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | TOV | PPG |
| 2019 | 9 | 36.7 | 38.5 | 31.0 | 90.0 | 4.3 | 7.0 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 21.3 |
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Kyrie Irving Nets contract
After the 2019 NBA Playoffs, it became clear that Irving and the Celtics were not the right fit.
The star guard wasted no time to cross his statements about returning to Boston from the start of the season. On the first day of free agency, he signed a four-year, $141 million contract with the Nets to join forces with his friend, Kevin Durant.
The news of Brooklyn's new star duo was announced in one tweet from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Sources: Durant will sign a 4-year, $164M deal with the Nets; Irving will sign 4-years, $141M.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2019
Irving remained with the Nets for three and a half seasons until he was moved to the Mavericks at the 2023 trade deadline.
