The series between the Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets got off to flying start. Jayson Tatum won the game on a layup after the Nets had come back down from 15 to take the lead. This game was very heated as fans were constantly booing and harassing Kyrie Irving, who in turn responded to the fans.

He even addressed this issue in the post-game press conference and his comments were not well received, particularly by NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal.

Kyrie went off for 39, but that wasn’t enough as the Celtics take game 1 with a 115-114 victory. Kyrie was heckled by fans all game long and he even flipped a few fans off. When addressing the issue, Kyrie said, “It’s the same energy they have for me, and I’m gonna have the same energy for them. And it’s not every fan. I don’t want to attack every Boston fan. But when people start yelling, ‘pu**y’ or ‘bi**h’ and ‘f**k you’ and all this stuff, there’s only so much you can take as a competitor.”

And Shaq took exception to those comments.

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Shaq brings up historic players when asked about Kyrie Irving and his comments

Shaq was asked what he thought of Irving’s behavior and his comments at the post-game press conference. He said Kyrie has to embrace it and shouldn’t react. Shaq said Kyrie can show it to the Boston fans by winning the series. He said Irving should behave like a professional.

He bought up a conversation with Bill Russell. Shaq said, “I had a conversation with Bill Russell. And he told me some things I never knew and the things they had to go through and he persevered to become one of the best big men. That’s the type of professional I want to be.”

Shaq wants Kyrie to show what he’s made of and not respond to fans. He said to take inspiration from the great Bill Russell and the struggles he had to go through. This series is surely about to get heated as the fans will be on Kyrie in game 2. It will be all up to him on how he chooses to respond. He can either listen to Shaq and let his game do the talk or respond in a similar way as game 1.

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