Kyrie Irving Admits He ‘Failed Miserably’ During Celtics Tenure, Discusses Struggles

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving told reporters that he “failed miserably” during his two-year tenure (2017-2019) with the Boston Celtics but added some context around those remarks as well.

“I failed miserably, while also not knowing how to compartmentalize or accept the emotions that come with failure,” Irving told reporters, per Jared Weiss, Sam Amick and Tim Cato of The Athletic. “And also being on the successful side, (I) didn’t know how to handle that either.”

Irving’s Celtics stint is coming to light as his Mavs face Boston in the NBA Finals. The eight-time All-Star also referenced some things that were happening behind the scenes that may have hindered his potential progress in town.

“Thinking about my time in Boston, I could go down a myriad of things that none of you in here know that I was dealing with, and I don’t think a lot of people would care,” Irving said.

“I think a few people would care and want to hear about it, and I would leave that space open in the future if you ever want to hear about it.”

The Celtics acquired Irving via trade in 2017, but his time in town lasted just two years after he left in free agency for the Brooklyn Nets in the summer of 2019.

Irving’s most infamous Celtics moment may have been telling fans before the 2018-19 season that he was committed to Boston and planned to re-sign with the team in free agency.

However, that tune changed during the year, as the Celtics struggled to recapture the magic from the previous season’s Eastern Conference Finals run. During the season, Irving told reporters “I don’t owe anybody s–t” regarding questions on his future NBA home and further said “ask me July 1,” e.g. the start of free agency.

Irving put up numbers in Boston (24.1 points, 6.1 assists and 4.4 rebounds) and even made the All-Star team twice. He unfortunately missed the 2018 run to the Eastern Conference Finals with a knee injury. The 2019 playoffs were not as successful, with Boston falling to the Milwaukee Bucks in five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Both sides are thriving right now, though, with Irving playing great ball on a Dallas team in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011 and the Celtics winning 77 of a possible 97 games thus far en route to searching for their 18th title.