Dallas Mavs’ Kyrie Irving Postgame Interview vs Sacramento Kings: March 29, 2024

Dallas Mavs’ Kyrie Irving Postgame Interview vs Sacramento Kings: March 29, 2024

Yeah Kyrie you guys made that run and chipped the game down to three then you came you came up to empty to like seven straight possessions sometimes that will kind of sa a teams come back but you guys showed a lot of resolve by coming

Back yet again why do you think you guys are different in that regard I think we’re different because of of just the conditioning that we’re in uh I think we’ve been proven it uh for the last few games and then also just our dep uh that’s that’s been crucial for us um

And then our resolve uh after the shots don’t go in what is the next play look like uh especially on the defensive end so we’re just paying attention to those details and and how we can control the controllables and you know teams are going to make shots and Miss shots but

Um if we’re the team that’s not making shots then we got to be able to lean on our defense a little bit more and stay in the game so I felt like we did a great job that tonight exm was was key down the stretch um not his first moment

Where where you know has had a huge game huge fourth quarter what’s it like for you guys in the locker room to to see a guy to have his moment and and be able to celebrate him uh it’s exciting it’s a joyful moment and as a as a you know a

Young kid when you’re first starting to play basketball uh hopefully your coach has taught you how to celebrate other people’s success and um you know even to the professional ranks encouraging someone positively goes a long way um he missed a few shots that were uh pretty

Pretty wide open um and I’m sure he’ll tell you that he wanted to make those just to create some separation for us but uh he made the one that counted uh that counted most and and we needed most and I just love the way we uh came to

The bench after he missed those two shots and we’re just looking at each other like we’re going to be fine and those are those mature moments that you don’t forget when you looking at your brothers eye to eye people that are in the game people that aren’t in the game

And they’re telling you um you know they’re assuring you like hey we got this so uh we felt that pretty much all night and then then I asked Dante about uh you know your transition pullup three and he says he says you know he pretty much expects everyone to go in because

They mostly do you know what is what is the the combination of confidence and you know just willingness to to take that shot especially in big moments like that yeah no it’s it’s uh goes back to the hours that are unseen you know just working on a pregame working on it uh

You know practically my whole career just trying to master different facets of my game uh a lot of teams pretty much pressure me up the floor or try to make me drive so if I have that in between pullup shot and it’s a three-point then

I know that can either give us the lead or create a little pressure on the opposite team Kyrie you you said in the last game you know this particular game will probably come down to a chess match and it basically did you know coach kid

You know call out that time out you come in you hit that big shot what it says you know when it plays out the way that you kind of predict it because and he talked about it before this game too you know it’s about making those adjustments

So what it says mainly about those making those type adjustment yeah uh you know as as a as a lover of this game of a lover of strategy of Mastery of Chess of Wii or excuse me a Wy which is a go game um you know Chinese Go game um you know you

Just become familiar with what your opponent wants to do beforehand uh you know kind of figure out what their unknown adjustments are in the first couple minutes first two quarters and and then after that after halftime it’s pretty much uh the will the person that you’re going against so

I I think uh for us we’ve just figured out uh what that looks like for US possession by possession and quarter by quarter and no matter if we’re up or down we we just pretty much have that same mission in the Forefront of our mind which is continue to press continue

To push continue to stay aggressive and most importantly stay poised emotionally because anything could change in the game momentum could change in an instant of a snap of a finger so we’re just preparing for them to throw their best shot at us in the first you know 24

Minutes and then after that coming out out of halftime time we were waiting for kind of their the rest of their adjustments and they hadn’t so I think that’s chess right there kind of tells you pretty much what’s going to happen just wait for the right time to strike

So um fortunate enough we got the win and we got stops in the timely Kyrie uh you and your team come here to sack now we’re able to steal two on the road um for you you know you’re fasting during the month of Ramadan uh is there

Something to be said about um you know you’ve had quite the Run yourself during this uh month you had some good performances is there would you attribute any of the physical benefits or anything beyond that to some of the good performances you’ve been having yeah I I think I would start off by

Saying God is truly merciful and uh doing good acts doing good deeds uh not only during the month of Ramadan uh but you know when you’re when you’re fasting or uh when you’re making that sacrifice physically spiritually emotionally um it does empower you it does empower others

It is an energy force that you can spread to other people not just Muslims you know a lot of people are watching me and as well as I’m watching a lot of my other brothers brothers and sisters take their Journey um but to be able to do

This at at a very high level such as professional sports I don’t take it for granted um I think you know me going out there and playing proves that God exists and that there is an entity out there protecting me and also protecting my brothers and sisters uh so you know

Basketball becomes a small part of my day while I’m fasting you know I know how crazy that sounds for some people don’t take it the wrong way people at home um but it it just when you’re um really just focused on getting closer to yourself and God at that time prayer

Meditation those things matter and it goes a long ways like this you know it’s just um living with the results whether the shots going or not whether we win or not uh just living with the results and knowing that I was grateful enough to wake up that’s all I can ask for you

Already talked about it but yeah how does important is it for you guys to celebrate even when you’re down and other things like that just to know that hey I got you back it’s all good yeah let’s get there uh I mean it’s hard to to to stay in that celebratory energy

When you’re losing right like that’s a toughest thing to do in any field but specifically in basketball uh because momentum can change because energy can change you want to give that positive reinforcement to everybody and I try to do that and I think I Echo the sentiments of of my teammates and my

Coaching staff that uh we just try to do the right things for each other and continue to feed each other that that positive energy like I said it goes a long way man all right so let you go get about here um the hours that you put in um unseen how does that

Um reflect on the court uh that’s a great question man um cuz some nights are going to be pretty some nights are not going to be so pretty shooting the ball well but uh I made a decision a long time ago I want to be the greatest uh one of the greatest to

Ever play this game and uh I know I have other peers in mine that are on that same Mission so we’re all competing against each other um I’m lucky fortunate enough to have one of the best to ever play the game and Luca with me and that’s not just saying it cuz he’s

Here but um I’m not going to gas you up bro you are um you know so we push each other uh every single day and um you know when you make that decision as a young kid that you want to be one of the best of all time then you’re willing to

Go through the bumps and bruis is the The Continuous aspects of the journey that may test you mentally and physically so the moments when you get fatigued you just think about your 8-year-old self and what you committed to and that’s why that’s the perspective

I put myself in is just I go back to 8-year-old me and write down my goals and who was that kid then and would he be proud of me continuing to persevere into the realm that I’m in now so just grateful thank you yep

Dallas Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving spoke to reporters after the team’s win over the Sacramento Kings on March 29, 2024, during postgame interviews.

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