The Golden State Warriors won 73 games, breaking Chicago’s mark by one. The Bulls went 72-10 during the 1995–96 season and capped it off with an NBA championship. The Warriors were on track to achieve what many considered the greatest season in NBA history. They were one step away. The Cleveland Cavaliers stood in their way, having quickly fallen to a 3-1 deficit in the Finals.
But the Cavaliers refused to go down easily. They won three straight games to force a deciding Game 7, and on June 19th, 2016, the eyes of the basketball world were fixed on Oracle Arena. The league was about to crown a new champion. The Warriors, led by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, had home-court advantage, but Cleveland entered the game riding a three-game winning streak.
The contest went back and forth. Golden State led 49–42 at halftime, and neither team led by more than eight points throughout the game. But the Warriors never found enough momentum to pull away. With 55 seconds remaining, the score was tied 89–89.
The Cavaliers were on the attack, and the ball was in the hands of Cleveland’s point guard. With Curry guarding him, he took a few dribbles to get closer to the three-point line. Between the legs. Crossover. One more pound. He stepped back beyond the three-point line and drilled the go-ahead three. The game-winning shot.
The Warriors didn’t have an answer, and Cleveland held on to win 93–89, giving the franchise its first NBA championship. This moment made Kyrie Irving immortal in the basketball sphere.
Family affair
Irving was born in Australia, where his father played professional basketball. When he was two years old, his family moved back to the United States and settled in New Jersey. His mother died when he was four, and he was raised by his dad and aunts. Inspired by his dad, he played basketball all the time.
When he was in fourth grade, he played a game at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Amazed by the venue and getting to taste the big stage for the first time, he declared: “I will play in the NBA, I promise.”
After dominating high school basketball, Irving was one of the best and highest-ranked players in his class. He received scholarship offers from the best programs in the country. Ultimately, he committed to Duke and played the 2010-2011 season in Raleigh for famous coach Mike Krzyzewski. Through the first eight games, the point guard averaged 17.4 points, 5.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.5 steals.
He was on track to take over college basketball and was pleading his case for NCAA Freshman of the Year but suffered a big toe injury that forced him to miss 26 straight games. Irving came back when the Blue Devils played Hampton in the first round of March Madness. He helped his team to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, where Duke fell to Arizona.
Stellar start
Irving finished the season shooting 52% from the floor, 46.6% from beyond the arc, and 90.1% from the free-throw line. There was no doubt his collegiate career was one-and-done. Shortly after, he declared for the 2011 NBA draft, where the Cleveland Cavaliers selected him first overall. And he didn’t need any time adjusting to the best league in the world. He took it by storm, shining from the start.
He started all 51 contests he suited up for and averaged 18.5 points, 5.4 assists, and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 39.9% from the three-point line. After receiving 117 out of 120 first-place votes, he was named the 2012 Rookie of the Year.
There was no sophomore slump for Irving. In just his second season, he earned his first NBA All-Star selection. A year later, in 2014, Irving was voted the starting point guard for the All-Star Game and delivered a spectacular performance, recording 31 points and 14 assists as the Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 163-155. He was named the All-Star Game MVP, becoming the second-youngest player behind LeBron James to win the award.
It was an early indication that Irving had developed from a talented young point guard into one of the league's premier offensive players.
On July 10th, 2014, Irving signed a five-year, $90 contract extension, while Cleveland also brought in LeBron and Kevin Love. The 'Big Three' took over and led the Cavaliers to the Finals, their second-ever. They faced the Warriors, but Irving suffered a fractured kneecap in Game 1 that required surgery. He missed nearly six months and returned in December 2015.
Stronger and better than ever, he looked as though he had never missed a beat. He helped Cleveland to win the Eastern Conference and get through the playoffs. Cleveland squared off with Golden State in the Finals rematch. This time, with a different outcome.
Before the iconic Game 7 shot, Irving delivered one of the greatest performances of his career. Facing elimination, Cleveland won Game 5 in Golden State 112–97. Irving scored 41 points on 17-of-24 shooting, including five three-pointers, while James also recorded 41 points.
It was the first time two teammates had each scored 40+ points in an NBA Finals game, and it sparked the Cavaliers' historic comeback. Cleveland became the first in NBA history to rally from a 3-1 Finals deficit, and the championship also ended Cleveland’s 52-year major sports title drought.
In the summer, Irving was part of the US men's basketball team that won gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He averaged 11.4 points per game during the tournament and scored 15 points in the gold-medal game against Serbia. The Olympic title came only weeks after his NBA championship, making the summer of 2016 arguably the most successful stretch of his career.
Moving on
After reaching the pinnacle, Cleveland and Irving continued performing at a high level, advancing to the Finals for the third straight year. This time, the Warriors got redemption and beat the Cavaliers 4-1. After the season ended, Irving requested a trade from Cleveland, saying he wanted to be more of a focal point of his own team instead of playing alongside James. The franchise traded him to the Boston Celtics.
During his final season in Cleveland, Irving stirred controversy in February 2017, after he stated that the Earth is flat. He discussed conspiracy theories with his teammates Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye on the Road Trippin’ with RJ & Channing podcast.
"This is not even a conspiracy theory," Irving told Jefferson and Frye while recording the podcast on an aeroplane. "The Earth is flat. The Earth is flat. ... It's right in front of our faces. I'm telling you, it's right in front of our faces. They lie to us."
The comments became a national story, with scientists and even NBA figures responding. Irving later apologised, saying he regretted the comments and acknowledged their potential impact on science teachers and students.
Irving continued playing well in Boston, but his first season with the team ended right before the playoffs due to another knee injury. In the 2018-2019 season, he helped the Celtics to reach the second round, where Boston fell to the Milwaukee Bucks.
He left Boston in 2019 in free agency to join the Brooklyn Nets. His decision was particularly notable because he had previously talked about wanting to remain in Boston and potentially re-sign with the Celtics. His eventual departure frustrated many Celtics fans, especially after Boston had struggled during his final season there.
Irving played four seasons in Brooklyn but never played in more than 54 games. He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in his debut year. Next season, he went off and recorded the coveted 50-40-90, shooting 50.6% from the field, 40.2% from three, and 91.5% from the free-throw line.
Controversies and restart
Then came another major controversy. In the 2021-2022 season, Irving declined to comply with New York City's COVID-19 vaccination requirements. Because of the city's rules, he was unable to play in Nets home games for much of the 2021–22 season.
The Nets initially allowed him to participate only in certain road games but eventually decided that he would not play or practice until he could be a full participant. The situation became one of the defining controversies of his Brooklyn tenure because it kept one of the team's stars off the court for a significant portion of the season.
Irving only played in 29 games that year. His absence badly hurt the Nets, as Brooklyn assembled a championship-calibre team around Irving, Kevin Durant, and James Harden. Irving leaving a hole in the roster led to a major disappointment as Brooklyn never made a deep playoff run.
In October 2022, Irving faced a huge wave of backlash after sharing a link to a film containing antisemitic material on social media. It also contained Holocaust denial and other conspiracy theories. The Brooklyn Nets subsequently suspended him for at least five games without pay after saying he had failed to unequivocally disavow antisemitic beliefs or acknowledge the hateful material in the film.
Later, Irving apologised and said he cared about the Jewish members of his family.
In February 2023, the veteran point guard requested another trade. The Nets sent him to the Dallas Mavericks, where he paired up with superstar Luka Doncic. And it worked - the duo powered Dallas to the 2024 NBA Finals, where the Mavericks lost to the Boston Celtics in five games.
Irving finished the season averaging 25.6 points, 5.2 assists, and 5.0 rebounds. For many, it was a revival. A restart to his career. Undeniably, Irving was playing some of his best basketball again.
Everything looked great in Dallas, until everything shattered in the blink of an eye. The organisation traded Doncic to the Lakers on February 1st, 2025. Just one month later, Irving tore his ACL and has been out since. But just as fans eye the return of NBA basketball, exciting news broke through - Irving has been cleared and has no restrictions after a 19-month-long recovery process.
"I'm ready to go out there and kick some butt," Irving said during the Mavericks' preseason media day. "I know that naysayers or some of the questions around where I'm going to be are going to be inevitable. But for me, I have the confidence of a champion.”
A lot has changed in Dallas since Irving last stood on the hardwood. The franchise drafted prodigy Cooper Flagg in 2025, and he instantly became a sensation. He is the reigning Rookie of the Year, and the Mavericks are building around him.
"I'm looking forward to the opportunity to grow with him," Irving said. "High-level basketball players, no matter the age -- you put us out there, we're going to win some ballgames."
“Having somebody like that out there on the court with you at all times is going to be amazing,” Flagg said. “The time that we’ve been able to spend in the summer on the court together has been good for both of us to kind of build that connection. I’m really excited. I think it’s going to be really fun to share the court.”
Last season, Dallas went 26-56, recording its worst season in eight years. In 2026-2027, the Mavericks will debut a revamped franchise - the organisation fired Jason Kidd and hired Dusty May as the new head coach. Additionally, the leadership hired Masai Ujiri as its team president and alternative governor. Ujiri built the 2018-2019 Toronto Raptors team that won the NBA championship.
New beginning
After reaching the Finals in 2024, Dallas strives to recover from the steep fall and return as a contender this season. Flagg is no longer a rookie. The team traded for Zaccharie Risacher, the 2024 No. 1 draft pick. And now, the Mavericks are getting back another cornerstone - a poised veteran ready to prove he still belongs.
"On where I want to be as a player and most importantly where do I want to be as a man," he said. "How can people look to me to be a better leader, a better communicator, be more emotional, vulnerable? And also taking the approach of acting like my age finally. Being 34 years old, I'm going on Year 16.
"Been through a lot, been through a lot of ups and downs as a person. But I think me as a competitor out there, you never have to worry about me falling short of putting my best foot forward out there."
Irving is hungry. This has been the longest stretch he has been away from basketball. Now, paired with Flagg, the next chapter of his career awaits: helping Dallas climb back from the bottom.
“Coming back from a traumatic injury, it’s not the easiest thing to overcome, but no excuses. I was built for this,” Irving said. “Being away from basketball, it gave me a lot of perspective. My injury was probably the best thing to happen to me.”
Kyrie Irving has experienced it all - championship glory, unforgettable moments, controversy, injuries, and setbacks. Now, as he returns to the court alongside a new generation in Dallas, another story begins. The player who once hit the biggest shot of his career is back with another opportunity to leave his mark on the game.