Irving, Kyrie (1992-…), is an outstanding guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is especially known for his creative ball handling and ability to make difficult baskets. Irving, who stands 6 feet 3 inches (191 centimeters) tall, was chosen by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year award for his play during the 2011-2012 season.
Kyrie Andrew Irving was born on March 23, 1992, to American parents in Melbourne, Australia. He lived in Australia while his father, Drederick, played professional basketball there from 1992 to 1994. Soon after returning to the United States, Drederick settled his family in West Orange, New Jersey. Kyrie Irving later played high school basketball at Montclair Kimberley Academy in neighboring Montclair for two years and then starred at St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He then attended Duke University on a basketball scholarship. Irving played in only a fraction of Duke’s games during the 2010-2011 season after suffering a toe injury.
Despite the injury, the Cavaliers made Irving the first pick in the 2011 draft. Irving made his first NBA All-Star team during his second season in Cleveland, and he received the honor in several subsequent seasons. With Irving starting as point guard alongside superstar LeBron James, the Cavaliers made the NBA finals in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Irving averaged 27 points per game in the Cavaliers’ seven-game victory over the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 finals. During the summer of 2016, Irving was a starting guard on the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team. Cleveland traded Irving to the Boston Celtics following the 2016-2017 season. Following the 2018-2019 season, Irving signed a contract to play for the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets traded Irving to the Dallas Mavericks in February 2023.
Irving has periodically gained widespread attention for some of his off-court comments and decisions. In a 2017 podcast, for example, Irving stated that he believed Earth was flat. Irving later apologized to science teachers for implying that the planet was not spherical. In 2021, Irving drew attention for his refusal to be vaccinated against the disease COVID-19. New York City had mandated that anyone entering an indoor arena be vaccinated, and so Irving missed most of the 2021-2022 season. In 2022, the Nets suspended Irving for several games after he promoted a controversial film on the social media website Twitter (now called X). Jewish leaders and many other observers considered the film to be antisemitic (anti-Jewish).
