Kyrie Irving Chides Opponent for Endangering His Health with ‘Unnecessary’ Dive: ‘No Place in Our Game for It’

Brandon ContesJan 11th, 2022, 2:17 pm
 

Kyrie Irving narrowly escaped serious injury Monday night during the Brooklyn Nets matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers and the superstar point guard has a gripe with the player who nearly caused the damage.

“I was just like man, that’s not a good play for basketball,” Irving said after the game. “I could have broken my ankle or done something worse. There’s just no place in our game for it.”

In the fourth quarter, Irving chased after a loose ball into the backcourt. As he neared the ball, Portland forward Nassir Little began to dive from a distance and slid head first underneath Irving, causing the Nets point guard to roll his left ankle. Irving was able to finish the game, scoring 22 points in Brooklyn’s loss to the Trail Blazers.

“I tried to get out of the way, but I just felt like it was unnecessary for him to dive from that far away from the ball,” Irving said. “I was just trying to get out of the way, but just an unnecessary play. I asked the refs, ‘you just have to protect our players out there.’ I get Nassir wanting to go for the ball, but it’s just a bad play.”

Irving was playing in just his second game of the season, having recently returned to the court after a forced absence of more than two months. Because Irving has refused to get vaccinated against Covid, New York City protocols prevent him from entering the Nets’ arena during home games.

The Nets originally barred Irving from being with the team at all, choosing not to use him as a part-time player for road games, but the organization reneged on that decision after Covid ran rampant through their fully vaccinated roster.

Watch above via SNY

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