Dallas Mavericks Star Opens Up About NBA Finals Disappointment

Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks fell to the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals.

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) in action during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Boston Celtics in game four of the 2024 NBA Finals at American Airlines Center. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

After a successful run through the NBA's Western Conference, the Dallas Mavericks advanced to the NBA Finals in 2024. However, they would fall short of the NBA title, losing in five games to the Boston Celtics, who hoisted the Larry O'Brien title for a record 18th time.

A big reason why Dallas went so far was star guard Kyrie Irving, who was the Mavericks' second-best player all season behind superstar Luka Doncic.

Appearing in 58 games in 2023-24, Irving averaged 25.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists in his 13th season. He did so efficiently, too – shooting 49.7% from the field and 41.1% from three.

Those numbers took a dip in the postseason ever so slightly, though, and more so in the Finals. Irving scored 19.8 points on 41.4 FG% and 27.6 3PT%, adding 3.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists across five games.

While watching highlights from the past year while live-streaming on Twitch, Irving opened up about the disappointment of not winning the Finals:

"Last year was definitely a disappointing year from the standpoint of not winning the Finals as a team and just coming up short," Irving said. "But we got there for a reason. Blood is definitely in the water.

"I'm always going to take my accountability. It starts with me. So as we close out this September with '23-'24 highlight film, definitely gotta set that straight. I did not play my best at all down the stretch in the season, and yeah, it's been eating me alive in a healthy way. Just staying motivated that we're going to be back. Yeah, we're going to be back. Just gonna have fun and take it day by day.

"Losing f-ing sucks, though."

Dallas Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving on losing the NBA Finals and his outlook for this season:

“Last year was definitely a disappointing year from the standpoint of not winning the Finals…We got there for a reason. Blood is definitely in the water. I’m always going to take… pic.twitter.com/glrp3PJzx2

— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) September 5, 2024

The Mavericks are one of the favorites to emerge from the Western Conference once again this season, where Irving and the Mavericks could have another chance at a first NBA title since the only one in franchise history in 2011.