Kyrie Irving fell on the trap once again amid the Game 1 meltdown. The Dallas Mavericks wouldn’t have imagined starting their Finals campaign with a blowout loss, but they didn’t have any answers for the Boston Celtics. Irving, who was expected to seek revenge at TD Garden, failed miserably with an underwhelming 12-point outing. On top of that, he has unfortunately revived the past allegation with a hostile act on Friday night.

The boisterous crowd kept the ‘boos’ and heckling on Kai flowing throughout the game. While the visuals from the game revealed that the 8x All-Star remained calm, the latest update had another story. In the latest episode of The Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio, a guest described Irving’s hostile behavior from Game 1. The guest added, “Kyrie had a running dialogue… with this guy in the sixth row, up and down the court, yelling at him, kind of giving him the finger on the sneak the entire time.” 

Notably, Kyrie Irving paid a fine of $50,000 for flipping his finger at Celtics fans in 2022. Moreover, ahead of Game 1, the Mavs star even revealed that he regretted his actions from 2022, saying, “That wasn’t a great reflection of who I am and how I like to compete on a high level. It wasn’t a great reflection on my end towards the next generation.”

But, hours into the statement, Irving allegedly flipped his finger once again, reviving the old allegation of ‘Locker Room Cancer’. Every avid follower of the NBA would know the rivalry between Kai and Celtics fans. It all began when he left the Celtics fold to join hands with Kevin Durant, which the fans considered betrayal.

On top of it, Irving’s union with KD also wasn’t great, as they broke up in a matter of 4 seasons. Apart from that, he refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine, leaving him off the court for a stretch. All these controversies eventually fetched him the Locker Room Cancer label.

Will the allegation of Kyrie Irving hamper the Mavs’ dream?

Kyrie Irving developed a ‘public enemy number one’ image after he left the Boston Celtics. Considering his beliefs surrounding the vaccine, break-up with KD, and other political stances, he was considered a liability in the locker room. Moreover, it grew multifold when he stomped on the Celtics’ lucky logo in 2022.

However, in the few months ever since he joined hands with Luka Doncic, the star has drifted away from the label. In fact, the Mavs coach Jason Kidd, speaking of it, said, “We don’t see that perception of what’s been written in the past,” a few months ago.

Nevertheless, the label seemed to have come up again following the latest allegation. While Kai can rework his image again, he can’t let it hamper his performance. Many argued that the hostile conditions in the arena have hampered Irving’s performance. Moreover, the guest on The Odd Couple podcast stated that “Kyrie has made it personal.”

At the end of the day, Kyrie’s ‘no-show’ may end the franchise’s dream of winning another championship. Will Irving silence all the noise in Game 2? Let us know in the comments.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow in what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about WNBA sensation Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, this video