The Dallas Mavericks re-signed their star guard, Kyrie Irving this season keeping the future in mind. Irving has a lot of experience when it comes to playing basketball. An NBA champion, 2x Olympic Gold Medalist, and 8x NBA All-Star, and his accomplishments continue. In addition to his basketball prowess, Kyrie is known for expressing his unfiltered opinions and comments.

This time, ESPN is in Irving’s line of fire. They published the 2023-24 top 100 players list and Uncle Drew is not happy. At all. The list features 100 players with an explanation as to why they are at that particular number and an extra tidbit for the readers.

Furious Irving blasts ESPN on Instagram

The NBA rank panel at ESPN, which includes around 150 contributors, ranks players based on their predicted contributions. Or at least that’s what they say. Kyrie Irving’s rank is 34, one point below last year. But Irving is not in the least concerned about that. He slammed ESPN on Instagram with a long comment on one of his fan pages. “Who. TF. cares. I Never will … I don’t respect them or their opinions.” 

Running a media business isn’t easy, and backlashes are all too common. But this has definitely got to sting. Even for ESPN. Fans have come in droves to support their favorite guard.

ESPN’s reasoning on why Kyrie Irving is in the 34th position

ESPN might be the one who published the list, but journalist Tim MacMahon gets all the credit for Kyrie’s particular section. According to MacMahon, a team-issued suspension and the Nets granting Irving’s trade request are what contributed to him falling off the grace. Not that the last year’s rank of 33 was in any way comforting. But is that enough reason for Kyrie to rank 34th?

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The last NBA title of the Dallas Mavericks was in 2011 when they beat the Miami Heat 105-95. It was also the franchise’s first win. This season’s trade was, hands down, the noisiest. The Mavs were adamant about getting Irving back at all costs and they succeeded. A three-year $126 million contract was sealed. Eddie Sefko of nba.com says, “The trade for Irving was not geared toward a quick fix but was a long-term investment to put a superstar alongside Luka.” It’s clear that Dallas has a bigger vision in mind.

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Though the preseason games are not favorable, we have to take into consideration that Kyrie and Luka are both resting due to injuries. The Mavs roster did have a super shuffle this time and it’s only a matter of time before they are back on their feet. The title is what they have in mind.