Dallas Mavericks' Kyrie Irving Feels 'Mutual Respect' with Boston Celtics Fans

Dallas Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving is a polarizing figure to Boston Celtics, but despite that status, he feels a sense of mutual respect.

Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) controls the ball against Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) in the first quarter during game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

BOSTON — The crowd at TD Garden is known for being one of the loudest and most impactful home-court advantages in the NBA. With Kyrie Irving, a polarizing former Boston Celtics star competing against his former team in the NBA Finals, now a member of the Dallas Mavericks, his interaction with the fans remains a key storyline as the series unfolds.

Irving struggled to score in Game 1, scoring only 12 points while making just 6 of 19 shots overall and missing all five of his 3-point attempts. Some speculated about the impact of the crowd on his performance, especially after one point, he subtly waved his arms subtly to pump up the crowd as "Kyrie sucks!" chants were raining down. He downplayed the impact of it before Game 2.

"I've been able to grow over the past few years to put basketball in perspective," Irving said. "This is an incredible experience that I get to live out for quite a few years of my life. I'm going to learn a lot of lessons that I'm going to apply to life after this."

Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) controls the ball against Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) in the first quarter during game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Before the series started, Irving emphasized his personal growth handling on-court emotions and failure but feels much more prepared as a veteran leader of the team in dealing with both. He related the circumstances to providing an experience that'll prove helpful in his life after basketball.

"I failed miserably while also not knowing how to compartmentalize or accept the emotions that come with failure, and also being on the successful side, didn't know how to handle that either," Irving said. "So the past few years have been about that growth perspective for me and learning how to handle myself in situations and circumstances that are going to be more beneficial for me to learn now than learning it when I'm 38 years old, and I'm looking back at my career, and I don't even know how to celebrate that."

Celtics fans' antics—ranging from T-shirts with his face depicted as a clown to blow-up dolls that are being destroyed in his image at bars—are viewed as part of the game. He made clear that he expects too many to desire him to fail but chooses to focus on the positivity in his life.

"I don't expect to be celebrated by everybody. I'm going to, you know, still be aware that a lot of people want to see me fail," Irving said. "But again, I think I pay attention more to the way that I'm celebrated from people that love me unconditionally and I go home and have a peace of mind."

"Thinking about my time in Boston, I could go down a myriad of things that none of you in here know that I was dealing with, and I don't think a lot of people would care," Irving explained. "I think a few people would care and want to hear about it, and I would leave that space open in the future if you ever want to hear about it. But putting into perspective the blowup dolls and remarks that are getting said, that's basketball."

Irving described feeling a sense of "mutual respect" with Boston fans when he walks around the city and deals with them on more of a personal level outside of the NBA setting.

"When I leave out of here and I walk around Boston, I don't hear a lot of the things that I hear when I'm playing on the court. There's a lot of mutual respect," Irving said. "There's a lot of eye-to-eye communication that's built on just being human, and they appreciate the things I do off the floor, as well. So there are a lot of Celtics fans out there that still love me, too, surprising to everybody. But when I'm on the street walking around, which I do, you know, it's a lot of love. I get a lot of embrace. I take pictures.

Irving's father, Drederick, was a standout at Boston University, bringing personal ties for Kyrie to Boston. The need for personal respect to his family was a focus for Irving when discussing his interractions with Celtics fans considering Irving had a water bottle thrown at his head in a past incident as a member of the Brooklyn Nets when walking to the player tunnel.

"My dad is here, he played at Boston University. So there has to be a respect there because if anything happens to my family while I'm here, then it goes way beyond the game," Irving said. "And I don't forget things either. Somebody threw something at me while I was here. I've heard it all. Nobody asked me how I felt after that and why it could be a little bit of a traumatic response when I'm back in this environment after somebody does something like that.

"So things have changed since then. I've been able to accept what I cannot change but also change the way that I look at things to be more positive," Irving explained. "So this is fun for me, man. This is healthy. I'm glad that I can be up here on this stage speaking authentically and then also go home and be at peace."

The series continues with Game 2 played on Sunday, with Irving's Mavericks competing to avoid trailing 2-0 in the series before returning to Dallas for the next two games being played at American Airlines Center.

READ MORE: Luka Doncic, Mavericks Highlight Major Fixes for Game 2 Against Celtics

Stick with MavericksGameday for more coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the NBA Finals.

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