Drama awaits in TD Garden as Kyrie Irving makes his way to the 2024 NBA Finals. The Dallas Mavericks dominated the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 4-1 series victory and locked their Finals berth. However, right after the qualification, the NBA world seemed to only be reminded of Uncle Drew‘s unfinished business against the Boston Celtics. Moreover, the Celts fans have already created a hostile environment for the guard even before his arrival.

The Celts were the first to enter the Finals after clean-sweeping the Indiana Pacers. Following the victory, the fans rightly predicted their opponent in the finals as they chanted “F**k Kyrie” on the streets. Or maybe, they wanted to rub the qualification on Irving’s face. Notably, the Celts fans’ hate for Irving has been brewing for a long time. Precisely, it began after he left the franchise for the Brooklyn Nets.

Speaking of his Finals match-up in Boston, Kyrie himself said, “I am at a place in my life where I don’t even consider those past moments… I had a rough time there… dealing with a death in my family and a lot of off-court stuff, so I wasn’t ready to handle… I am ready to go back to Boston and have fun with my teammates.”

Why do the Celtics fans hate Kyrie Irving? The one-word answer is betrayal. Following his successful stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Irving made an off-season move to the Celtics. After a promising stay for 2 seasons, he promised to re-sign, saying, “If you guys will have me back.” But it all came crashing down with rumors of a strained relationship with a teammate and his plan to leave the Celtics to join Kevin Durant in a new franchise.

The latter turned out to be true, and he eventually became the public enemy number one for Celtics fans. Moreover, the Celts fans have a history of heckling Kai on the court when he appeared in TD Garden sporting the Nets thread. The star guard also flipped his fingers at the crowd in response and paid a $50,000 fine. Heading into the Finals series, the fans could expect a similar drama from the TD Garden crowd. While the Celtics’ intimidating 37-4 home record already seems like a threat to the Mavs, the anti-Kyrie chants could become an add-on.

Trae Young and Ja Morant join the fans, awaiting the Kyrie Irving drama

Atlanta Hawks star guard Trae Young hit the sweet spot by sharing Irving’s heated moment at TD Garden. Young reposted the highlight reel from the 2022 playoff series between the Nets and Celtics. The video showcased the crowd’s boisterous “Kyrie sucks” chants and Kai’s uncanny reaction to the hostile environment. Notably, it also included the famous finger flip. The Hawks guard shared the video along with a popcorn bucket emoji, highlighting the upcoming drama.

Following Young, another promising guard joined the bandwagon. While Ja Morant didn’t mention the drama involved in the Finals series, he expressed his happiness for Uncle Drew. Ja reposted a picture of ‘happy’ Kyrie giving his interview after the Game 5 victory, with a caption that read, “Happy for this guy,” along with a blue heart.

While Kyrie had promised to stay in Boston if they had his back, he has Luka Doncic this time to have his back. A fan shared a video of Doncic going off at the crowd in Minnesota. We’ll never know. We might as well see the Slovenian star standing up for Kai.

Moreover, none of the fans seem to doubt Kyrie Irving after his 0-4 series sweep against the Celtics in 2022. A fan wrote, “Kyrie about to own them so hard.” Meanwhile, another fan brought out the pop-culture meme reference, commenting, “gonna be cinema.”  Yes, indeed, it’s going to be an absolute drama for the fans, considering the Mavs dominating run in the series, eliminating the OKC Thunder and Wolves, two top dogs of the season.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to hear what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.