Irving Says Championship Is In Near Future For Nets and It's Because of Him

The 6x All-Star says it's not as far fetched as you think.

“Patience is not simply the ability to wait – it’s how we behave while we’re waiting.” A wise woman by the name of Joyce Meyer once said that. So keep this in the back of your mind until the Nets win their first NBA championship Nets fans. According to Kyrie Irving that will be in the near future.

Just a reminder, the team doesn’t have any NBA championships but has won two ABA championships back in 1974 and 1976.

“It’s not a coincidence that the last time the Nets won a title, they were led by Julius Erving,” said Irving. “I’m just saying. Erving. Irving.”

In case you haven’t been following, this came just shortly after Irving said the team needed “one or two more pieces” after him and the Nets lost 117-106 to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.

He was under fire for this statement for a bunch of reasons.

Firstly, Irving was only in his third game back after missing 26 games due to a shoulder impingement that many questioned the validity of.

Secondly, arguably the best player on the roster in Kevin Durant is expected to sit out this whole season so he hasn’t donned a Brooklyn jersey besides on Media Day back in September.

Thirdly, he has the reputation of being a player that is never happy. In Cleveland forcing his way out; in Boston leaving as a free agent after criticizing his teammates and leaving in the offseason after verbally declaring in front of the fans that he wants to stay in Bean-town; now this.

So now fast forward to this Erving/Irving statement one may look at this as damage control but apparently his teammates didn’t take it personal; even though he left some teammates out when he name dropped some as needing help to have their talents complemented.

All things considered this team can’t be truly judged until 10x All-Star Durant gets back and is playing for Brooklyn. However evaluating this team 42 games in there are definitely some things that are looking up for this young team.

Since last year this team has gotten slightly better defensively and they find themselves in many close games as well. Not to mention since superstar duos have multiple teams in contention for a title right now it’s fair to expect the duo of Irving and Durant to be right there with the rest of them once they play together. Between the two they have three NBA championships, 16 All-Star appearances and nine All-NBA team selections.

Today on Martin Luther King Jr. Day however the Nets fell 117-111 to the 76ers who have now lost their fourth straight.