Dallas Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving Interview Before Game 5 vs. Boston Celtics – NBA Finals

Dallas Mavericks’ Kyrie Irving Interview Before Game 5 vs. Boston Celtics – NBA Finals

all right we have the microphones around the room we’ll take questions think David you got one in the back yep and H hi K uh we didn’t see you guys on court before game four and we can feel this light more tense atmosphere uh in the locker room before the game four and now during the shooting practice you were joking around uh having fun smile and and we can feel that it’s lighter right now and uh I want to know how much lighter is the atmosphere among you guys and how how we could help during the game yeah I don’t I don’t want you to mistake us smiling and joking around with each other and you know being in practice um you know for a weakness or that we’re not taking this any more serious than we were in game four I I just think we’re here in Boston we’re just trying to settle our eles we had a meeting um you know just as a squad at the hotel where we went over film um so we’re pretty locked in from there and there was carry over into our early minutes in practice and then when you guys come in um pretty much having fun you know that’s it’s been this way since we were kids we want to make sure we relish In This Moment don’t take it for granted um and just ground ourselves here too I think the last two games we were even more intense uh you know when we were here in Boston uh don’t think we got as settled as we would have liked uh so we just wanted to try some things a little different um a little bit more smiling and then 24 hours from now getting ready for all out battle against this great Celtics team fourth row on your right on the aisle Kyrie um I just want to ask you about your growth your Evolution um spiritually off the court on the court it seems like every interaction that you have is very very positive you you see that just in your body language um with your teammates on the court you see that with the chemistry um and you see that when you talk to the press it seems like there’s been a tremendous growth um can you can can you speak to that and also um how have you evolved in your view uh since you left Boston in 2019 uh well to answer your first part of your question I I would I would be being dishonest if I just took the time to say thank you for you know putting those words together you know um you in terms of my interactions with people being all you know majority of the time positive uh I’ll be honest with you it’s it’s not always positive all the time I’m human um sometimes there’s some misunderstanding or miscommunications and it takes a little bit of a a longer thorough conversation uh just to get on the same page um you know I think I’ve just figured out in my life that a lot of people just want the time and space to be heard uh they want to be listened to and then if they respect you and you respect them then they’ll listen to you and give you the space to um or yeah give you the space to say how you feel as well um you know I’ve talked about it uh over the past few months just where I was in 2017 or 18 when I first got traded here to Boston um you know I wasn’t uh in the place to be able to vocalize my feelings or know how to do that um was learning how to be a man learning how to be a father so part of that Evolution came from that of um you know taking the time to go inside and and figure out who I want to become um but also I had to accept uh some of things some of the choices I had done in my life and um you know when you look at yourself in the mirror sometimes you don’t like what you see and that could lead to some depression or lead to some anxiety or lead to other mental health issues um and that’s a big thing that I think our generation is spearheading uh where I hope that the older generation can take a take a lesson out of our book that you know this isn’t just some spiritual 7s type of mantras that we’re trying to put out here you know we actually believe in what we talk about in terms of meditation and having the ability to slow your life down and um making sure that you keep your priorities straight because the world isn’t going to care about how you feel mentally all the time or whether or not you are healthy uh when you’re at home or taking care of yourself so you got to figure out that space for yourself and um figure out the village and the tribe that you want to have around you that supports those goals uh that you have personally so I don’t want to get too preachy preachy again here you know I how I could speak for hours but um yeah just that that’s been the growth uh since 2017 even before then you know um just learning how to be a person in this world uh make an impact in a positive way David back left uh David alers the athletic Kyrie um you played in a place in Cleveland that had incredible pressure to win a championship because of the history and they hadn’t won in so long I wonder though what was different about when you came here because of the history of this franchise and the almost expectation of this franchise that every year you’re supposed to win a championship here and if you don’t it’s a complete failure uh yeah I mean when I look back on it um getting traded here this wasn’t one of my options you know I it wasn’t like number one on my list so when the trade um opportunity got approached to me um you know instead of going back and appreciating the Celtics history I I just came in with an open mind and and just kind of like all right I’m just going to go with the flow into this but I think that was the wrong approach um you know just being young uh but now that I’m a little older you know hindsight looking back on definitely would have taken the time to get to know people within the community talk to some of the Champions that have come before me actually extend myself uh to them instead of the other way around expecting them to be there for me and give me advice uh because they they’ve been through it they they have Championship pedigree here they’ve shown it for years they’re uh one of the most winning and franchise in all of sports so you have to show your respects here and I think that’s what I struggle with initially was figuring out how I’m going to be a great player here while winning championships while also leading a team team and uh selflessly joining uh the Celtics organization or the cult that they have here um you know and that’s what they expect you to do as as a player they expect you to seamlessly buy into the Celtics Pride buy into everything Celtics and if you don’t then you’ll be outed and uh I’m one of the people that’s on the outs I’m perfectly fine with that you know what I mean I did it to myself um they don’t welcome me in with warm and Brace even though I know a lot of people in organization and my friends still here some of them um but yeah it was just a doing to myself and um that’s what I was talking about in terms of accepting the choices but looking back on it definitely would have showed my respect and and had more of a a counsel around me from some of the Boston Celtics that had came before me to explain what the pressure is like so um if it’s at all possible if you it’s it is impossible to take yourself out of the equation but just what is it like for a player to come here to Boston when they know when you know when you look up and you see all the banners and everything you know what this franchise is about and what the expectations are yeah I mean you just expect to have a a magnifying glass on you everywhere you go um you know I don’t I don’t think Boston appreciates being kind of second class in New York in terms of the media Capital world but this is a media Capital world as well there’s a lot of history here off the court so uh the community is integrated into the Celtics team that’s probably the best way I could say it the the the community is is what makes the Celtics great here the Boston uh pandemonium um that’s what makes the space so loud and so special and they take pride in it so uh if any player is coming here getting drafted here or think about coming here fore agency or getting traded here I just think do your homework and and make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into um you know that’s that’s something I could offer Dwayne back left Kyrie what did you see out of Tim the other night and and the looks that he got and how how does you guys make sure he get those same looks tomorrow night yeah he was just playing with a ation um you know about his his within his game and he came out knocking shots and uh that’s what we need from him is just to stay confident uh stay fluid and uh he’s been doing a great job with the young guys on the bench as well keeping them engaged um and and I think that’s the next part of his Evolution including all of ours is just continuing to be a better teammate uh regardless if you’re shooting the ball or not um and I think that helps reward you uh when you’re doing those things so Tim Kyrie you talked about you guys as a team getting settled and and you know not having been able to necessarily do that the first couple games uh given the circumstances here with as you said you being on the outs how do you personally get yourself settled and get yourself to a place where you can perform at the level that they need you yeah we just have to wait and see tomorrow man um you know change a few things up be prepared for what I’m getting myself into my teammates most importantly um and not making this about me or or getting into into the energy uh with anyone else other than my teammates and that’s about it Jeff fourth row on the left Jeff zil get USA Today Kyrie it’s a a slight followup to what Tim just asked I know you wanted to play well here and maybe you indicated after the first two games maybe not up to your standard so I wonder what’s the balance between having the responsibility to do what you need to do but without making it too pressure filled uh I mean let’s just call it what it is when the fans are Chan Kyrie sucks or or anything they feel like they have a psychological Edge and that’s um you know fair you know and of course if I’m not making shots or turning the ball over that makes even more of a a pressing issue right that they can stay on me for so uh I think in order to um silence even the self-doubt let alone the the crowd doubt but the self-doubt when you make or Miss shots uh that’s just as important as making sure that I’m leading the team in a right way and being human through the experience too and telling them how I feel um I’ve had a few teammates be in this building with me um on wins and losses uh so I know what it feels like for both but um I try to pay attention to the positive things that got us wins here early in my career and then also um thinking about the things I can learn from uh throughout the performances that I’ve had here where I didn’t play up to par so it’s just being honest about it and then also breathing through the experience and having fun with it to last question question on the left Kye to Mar’s AR with the athletic with clutch points excuse me um the other day Phil handy was was on a podcast with Matt Barnes and he talked about coming back from a 3-1 deficit and just winning those three games uh your mind just goes to how do we win three of them the the task that you guys have before you like how do you you know break it down to not look at four games three games two games just look at one game at a time how does that process work for you for me or a team the team um Man by just thinking about the goal that we have in front of us as best we can and um try not to get tired of uh everyone talking about the history that has not been made and um you know I’ve said it over the past 48 hours just putting our best foot forward and and just simplifying it’s basketball uh Win Lose or Draw it’s all you know or win or lose that’s all that can happen so just want to be as prepared as you can for whatever the environment is going to be like in terms of what’s expected from you um but I think what I’m sharing with my teammates now I just enjoyed a moment and uh we got a chance to accomplish one of our goals which is to make it back to Boston so we have another goal in front of us and that’s to make it back to Dallas thank you

Dallas Mavericks superstar Kyrie Irving spoke to reporters before Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.

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