Steve Nash Looking Forward to When Kyrie Irving Plays at Home

The head coach gave his thoughts on potentially getting the seven time All-Star back full time as New York City plans to phase out of an indoor vaccine mandate.

Kyrie Irving may be able to play home games soon.

On Wednesday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he “can’t wait” to phase out the indoor vaccine mandate in the city, which means Irving should be playing at Barclays Center sooner than later.

These were Mayor Adams' exact words when it came to phasing out the vaccine mandates for indoor spaces in NYC. Seems to give a lot of hope that changes are coming and that, from a sports perspective, Kyrie Irving will suit up for the Nets at Barclays Center. #Nets #NetsWorld pic.twitter.com/dbSRUaY20a

— Christian Arnold (@C_Arnold01) February 23, 2022

Adams said he thinks it will take a few weeks to get rid of the mandate entirely, but it should happen in the near future.

“I look forward, in the next few weeks, of going through a real transformation that I don't have to wonder what you look like,” he said. “I would know what you look like again. We’re moving in the right direction. We’re going to do it in a safe way.”

Nets HC Steve Nash said he is looking forward to getting Irving back as a full-time player.

“It's great, obviously,” Nash said, via ESPN’s Nick Freidell. “It would be great for us to have Kyrie available for all our games. Having said that, it’s not really in our control, so we’ll leave it up to the mayor and wait patiently.”

Nash added Irving has been training like a full-time player and will be ready in that regard whenever New York City lifts the mandate.

“I think he’s working towards being able to play in every game,” Nash said. “So if the mandate is lifted, the expectation would be that he can play in all our games. I think that’s what he’s been waiting for and what he’s excited about, and if the opportunity arises, the plan and the goal is to play every night.”

Since Irving is not vaccinated, and New York City has an indoor vaccine mandate, he hasn’t played a home game yet this year. Irving didn’t start the season with the team, but he rejoined the team in January and has only played in road games so far, 14 in total. 

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If New York City lifts the mandate, Irving should be able to play in home games by the time the playoffs roll around.

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