By Johan Abdu
Brooklyn Nets point guard Kyrie Irving successfully ran out the vaccine clock and is starting to drive fans impatient.
After refusing to be vaccinated to comply with the city’s mandate, Irving was barred from playing Nets’ home games in Brooklyn. He was, however, allowed to travel with the Nets to play away from home, where other cities and their stadiums had looser vaccine mandates.
Ever since NYC Mayor Eric Adams officially lifted the city-wide vaccine mandate for professional athletes to put them on “a level playing field,” Kyrie Irving has played 25 games. Mar. 27 marked his debut when the Charlotte Hornets rolled into town at a jam-packed Barclays Center, and Irving himself was anxious in the days leading up.
“Please take my comment seriously when I say I’ve been pinching myself since Wednesday and Thursday because there was a time where I got my hopes really, really high and all the air just got let out,” said Irving during practice a day before.
The stage was set for Irving to deliver in front of the home crowd, season ticket holders old and new. In the end, the Nets lost to the Hornets 119-110.
The Nets season has been a real rollercoaster since. They’ve slipped down to 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 40-38 record.
“The ball’s not going to go in every night,” Nets Coach Steve Nash said of Irving. “I don’t know how much he felt that or not. It’s just not always gonna happen for you. It’s not always gonna go in.”
A team who was favored to win the East for so much of this season, now dangles by a thread, despite Irving averaging 27.08 points a game. Defensively, the team falls apart piece-by-piece in big game situations.
What fans can look forward to these days is Irving’s desire to stay in Brooklyn.
Irving, according to the NY Daily News, will become a free agent by declining a $36.6 million player option and opting for a five-year, $246 million max deal. Or, he can exercise his player option and sign a four-year, $190 million extension with the Nets. For Irving, he already knows what he wants.
“I signed up for this for the long run,” Irving said. “Once that summertime hits, I know we’ll have some conversations. But there’s no way I can leave my man No. 7 [Kevin Durant] anywhere.”