Kyrie Irving didn’t leave the Cleveland Cavaliers on the best terms.
He was reportedly sick and tired of living under LeBron James‘ shadow and wanted to pursue a path of his own.
His sudden trade request didn’t sit well with some fans and people within the organization.
Nonetheless, he still got a tribute video in his first game back in the Q, and there was some applause on top of the boos.
But regardless of how some people may feel about Kyrie as a person, Kevin Love believes there’s no doubt that the team should retire his jersey when he retires:
“Without a doubt. Absolutely. Right away, after his career ends,” Love told cleveland.com. “It’s not even a question to me. He needs to be up there. He made the biggest shot in franchise history and one of the most important shots in Finals history when you consider how it all went down — what it meant for the city, what it meant for his legacy, LeBron’s legacy and everything else, including that Golden State team that became a dynasty and was historically great.”
https://twitter.com/LegionHoops/status/1607820888048820224
Truth be told, Kyrie was the face of the franchise in the post-LeBron James era, and he played a major part in their championship run.
Irving struggled to find success in Ohio without LeBron, but they would’ve never won that ring in 2016 if it wasn’t for his clutch bucket over Stephen Curry, not to mention how much he stepped his game up throughout their entire postseason run.
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