Kyrie Irving Praises Celtics for Rare Attribute

Irving recognized the personnel he went up against during the 2024 NBA Finals.

Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

With the 2024-25 season on the horizon, former Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving reflected on his performance during the 2024 NBA Finals while talking with Locked on Mavs. during Mavericks Media Day.

While making it clear that his performance was "not the best reflection" of who he is, Irving shouted out the Celtics for the defensive personnel they had.

Kyrie Irving explains his struggles on the road in the NBA Finals pic.twitter.com/OxJiXl2pvj

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"I have always known that going against some guys that I've played [with] is always going to be some of the toughest," Irving said. "Playing against Jrue Holiday, [Jayson Tatum], [Jaylen Brown], even Derrick White and Al Horford. That starting five with [Kristaps Porzingis] thrown in there, they had a great defensive group, and they play extremely well off each other on the defensive end."

More than that, Irving continued to praise the Celtics, going as far as explaining just how rare of a breed they were as a team when talking about the 2024 NBA Finals.

"We went against a great team," Irving said. "We're going up against one of the best defensive teams of all-time. Not just one of the best teams of the past few seasons. That was a special group we went [up] against... So I give credit to the Boston Celtics."

Irving is not only an NBA champion with plenty of playoff experience to his name, but he is also considered one of the best scorers of his era. However, he didn't have the best overall performance against the Celtics compared to what he has put up in the past.

In five games against the Celtics, Irving averaged 19.8 points per game while shooting 41.4% from the field and 27.6% from three. Those numbers suggest exactly what Irving was getting at in regards to how good Boston's defense was against him and the Mavericks during the finals.

Despite Irving's checkered history with the Celtics, it's clear he still respects his former team and those who play for them. Knowing both the Celtics and Mavericks goals for the season, it'll be interesting to see if history will repeat itself should the two teams face off again on the league's biggest stage,