Kyrie Irving's Former Celtics Teammate Gets Honest on Relationship

Kyrie Irving's time in Boston was very volatile.

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Kyrie Irving's time with the Boston Celtics was anything but peaceful. Throughout Irving's two seasons with the Celtics, he transformed from a hero to public enemy number one. Despite the hostility, his former Celtics teammates hold no ill will, including Marcus Smart.

During an interview on Tidal's Run Your Race podcast, Marcus Smart opened up on his relationship with Kyrie Irving when they were both members of the Boston Celtics. Smart acknowledged that Irving could definitely rub people the wrong way.

“Great teammate, you know what I’m saying," Smart said. "And I think Kyrie gets a little bit more than his fair share of criticism because of just who he is. He’s not gonna back down from anybody, on the court or off the court, no matter what topic you want to talk to him about, no matter what game or aspect, he’s not gonna back down. And I think that gives him a lot more shade than normal."

Even though Marcus Smart and Kyrie Irving had a positive relationship on the Celtics, it didn't always start that way. Smart revealed that he and Irving actually butted heads when the point guard first joined the team.

"But as a teammate, man, Kyrie was great," Smart said. "You know what I’m saying? Me and Kyrie, we didn’t see eye to eye at first. You know what I’m saying, it was tough. He’s trying to figure out on a new team, we were trying to figure out how to play with him."

Regardless of whatever Kyrie Irving does for the rest of his career, he'll never have a positive image in the city of Boston. Despite that, Kyrie Irving won't lose any sleep at night over the drama, and neither will his former teammates.

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