Why Do Boston Celtics Fans Hate Kyrie Irving? Every Detail on 32YO Mavs Star’s Ugly Exit in 2019

The Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving has been doing well with Luka Doncic and Co. this year. In the last game, both of the Mavs’ key players scored 36 points to pull the Mavericks to the NBA Finals for a showdown against the Boston Celtics. The Mavs point guard’s separation from the Celtics was not so amiable to say so. He spent two seasons in Boston after parting ways with his team to join the Brooklyn Nets in the year 2019. Though the Celtics fans did not get the chance to express their hate for Irving publically, they went all out after he left their home team.

The 32-year-old has been facing the wrath of the Boston fans since then. In the finals this year. It seems that Kyrie Irving will have to face trouble off the court apart from Celtics’ forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Yet the new NBA lovers always wonder about the genesis of all of this chaos around Irving and his history with the Boston Celtics. Let us go through the events that ultimately led to a hate arc between the Celtics fans and the Mavs point guard.

Series of events in chronological order that created a rift between Kyrie Irving and the Celtics fans!

It is well known that Kyrie Irving has an acrimonious history with the NBA title contenders this year. However, the actual truth is yet in the form of hearsay. Today, we will dive deep into how the 32-year-old got involved in this great rivalry with the fanbase of their final opponents.

Kyrie Irving’s Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 Unavailability

The first incident that might have given birth to a little bit of bitterness in the minds of the Celtics fans for Irving was the 2017-18 NBA finals. Irving had a great season as he averaged 24.4 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.8 rebounds that year. Tatum was just a rookie but performed well for his team. However, as the playoffs approached, Irving got out due to his knee injury. Since Irving had surgery scheduled for March, he could not make it back on time. Eventually, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Irving’s absence from such crucial games did give a stench to the Celtics fans.

Betrayal With the Celtics fans after going against his statement!

During a season ticket holder event at the TD Garden in 2018, Irving announced to the cheering crowd, “If you guys will have me back, I plan on re-signing here.” However, as the 2018-19 season started, the point guard struggled to make his way as a leader in the Celtics. It seemed like he was planning to leave the team soon. Even when he was asked about his return in February 2019, he replied, “I don’t owe anybody s—,” Irving said, adding, “ask me July 1st.”

A backhand corroboration with Kevin Durant to leave the Celtics

During an All-Star game in 2019, Kevin Durant was spotted having some silent chatter with Irving in the hallway. Reportedly, it appeared that Irving was telling Durant about the fact the Brooklyn Nets could sign both of them to max contracts. However, Irving gave a rude response when asked about the exchange as he stated, “What I do with my life is my business, so …it’s none of anybody’s.” However, Durant later revealed the truth in 2020 as he further shared, “The All-Star game video where they caught us in the hallway. That’s when it was solidified that we were going somewhere.”

He signed the anticipated deal with the Brooklyn Nets in July 2019 worth $142 million to join Kevin Durant.

The TD Garden Burning Sage Incident

Though the fans were quite criticizing Irving, the provoking activities also came from Irving’s side. In December 2020, when the world was under the wrath of COVID-19, Irving was captured burning sage on the courtside. Later, the Mavs point guard explained the purpose of the activity to “cleanse the energy” from the arena. It appeared quite provoking for the Celtics fans, considering his last departure.

Stumbling on the Celtics logo

During Game 4 of the 2021 playoffs, Irving made headlines as he walked to midcourt and accidentally walked into the center court Lucky The Leprechaun, putting his foot on the logo. It had made fans infuriated as one of them allegedly threw a drink at Irving while he was going out.

A Ungentlemanly Reply from Kyrie Irving to the Celtics fans!

During the 2022 playoffs, Irving got a chance to play against the Celtics. Though his opponent won the game, the crowd did not hesitate to get under the point guard’s skin. Every time the audience tried to put down his morale or boo him, Irving was witnessed flipping the middle finger to the agitated crowd on several occasions. After the game, he seemed quite pi**ed about the incident as he commented, “We’re the ones expected to be docile and be humble, take a humble approach.”

These were some of the incidents that provoked the Celtics audience against the Mavs point guard. In the finals, the same treatment is expected from the Celtics fans. What are your thoughts on this? Will it be justified to spew hate against a basketball player who has moved on from the past? Let us know in the comments. Moreover, make sure to watch out for what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, shared about the marketing genius in the following video.