Kyrie Irving Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family, Love, and how good was he in college, as well as his plans on degree.
kari, lit., is the name of Kyrie Andrew Irving.'Little Mountain' is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association.He was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the NBA draft.He was a member of the All-NBA Team for two years and won an NBA championship with the Cleveland.
Irving played college basketball for Duke.He won the Most Valuable Player award for the All-Star game.In the 2016 NBA Finals, Irving made a three-point field goal in the final seconds to win the title.Irving requested a trade after another appearance in the Finals.He signed with the Brooklyn Nets as a free agent in 2019.He won a gold medal for the United States national basketball team at the 2016 Summer Olympics.He replaced Pau Gasol as vice-president of the National Basketball Players Association in February 2020.[2]
Irving is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and is an active philanthropist to his people on the reservation.He wrote, directed and acted in a number of advertisements as the role of "Uncle Drew".He has appeared in Kickin' It, We Bare Bears, and Family Guy.
Irving was the son of Drederick and Elizabeth Irving, American expats, and the stepson of Shetellia Irving.He has two sisters, Asia and London.Shawn and Drederick were teammates at Boston University under Rick Pitino.Irving's father moved to Australia to play for the Bulleen Boomers in the SEABL after completing his college career.Irving moved to the United States when he was two years old after living in a suburb in Australia.He has dual American and Australian citizenship.Drederick and Irving's aunts helped raise him after his mother died of an illness.He was given the name éla (Little Mountain) in honor of his heritage and to recognize the donations he made to the tribe during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests.He has continued to honor his heritage by donating to the tribe as well as designing Nike shoes that are dedicated to his tribe.[13][14]
Irving attended his father's adult-league games a lot when he was a kid.He promised to play in the NBA when he played at Continental Airlines Arena in fourth grade.Irving spent a lot of time in Boston due to his father's connection to Boston University.Dennis Wolff offered him a scholarship to Boston University.Irving played for the Road Runners as a teenager.[17][18]
Irving played for two years in high school.He became the second 1,000 point scorer in the school's history with an average of 28.6 points, 10.3 assists, 4.8 rebound, and 3.6 steals.He was part of the team that won the first New Jersey Prep 'B' state title.He moved to St. Patrick High School because he wanted a bigger challenge.He had to sit out the first 30 days of the season due to the transfer.Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was one of the best players in the class of 2011.[20][21]
In his first season, Irving led the team to its third New Jersey Tournament of Champs title in four years and averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.The USA East won the Nike Global Challenge in August of 2009.He averaged 21.3 points and 4.3 assists per game.St. Patrick was banned from the state tournament for holding practice before the winter sports season started.St. Patrick finished his senior year with 24.0 points, 5.0 rebound and 7.0 assists per game as he won the Union County Tournament championship.[18]
Irving was selected to the Junior National Select Team.The team played at the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon, on April 10.He was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American Game and the 2010 Jordan Brand Classic, where he was named co-MVP with Harrison Barnes.The United States won the gold medal at the 2010 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship.[26]
On October 22, 2009, Irving committed to Duke in a television broadcast.Irving was a member of the Blue Devil basketball team during the 2010–11 season.Through the first eight games of the season, he averaged 17.4 points per game on 53.2% shooting, 5.1 assists, 3.8 rebound and 1.5 steals.
Irving was a strong contender for NCAA Freshman of the Year until he suffered a serious toe injury in the ninth game.He returned for his first game since his injury on March 17th, the day before Duke played in the first round of the NCAA tournament.It was 29 and 30.
Duke lost to Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.In his last game for Duke, Irving scored 28 points.[31]
Irving decided to forgo his final three seasons of eligibility and enter the NBA draft, where he was selected with the first overall pick.Irving played for Team Chuck at the 2012 Rising Stars Challenge.Irving was named the game's Most Valuable Player after scoring 34 points and going 8-of-8 from three-point range.He won the 2012 NBA rookies of the year award with 117 of a possible 120 first-place votes.He was the only unanimous selection to the first team.Irving averaged 18.5 points, 5.4 assists and shot 46.9% from the field, including 39.9% on three-pointers.[37]
Irving broke his right hand at a Las Vegas practice on July 14, 2012 after hitting a padded wall after committing a turnover.He said he was a little disappointed.I have to take care of my health.It was crazy.It happened so fast.Irving would need hand surgery on July 18.39 and 40
Irving injured his finger in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks at the start of the 2012–13 NBA season.He missed three weeks of action because of the injury he sustained in the next game.In his second game back after a broken bone, Irving scored a career-high 41 points against the New York Knicks while wearing a black protective face mask.He was one year younger than Michael Jordan when he scored 40 points in Madison Square Garden.[42]
Irving was selected to play in the All-Star game.He had 15 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebound.He scored 32 points in a losing effort in the Rising Stars Challenge.Irving won the Three-Point Contest with 23 points in the final round.He ended his second season with an average of 22.5 points, 5.9 assists, 3.7 rebound, and 1.5 steals per game.[46]
Irving was chosen by fans to be the starting point guard for the Eastern Conference.He was the All-Star game's Most Valuable Player, with 31 points and 14 assists, as the East beat the West 163–155.48
In a 99–79 win over the Utah Jazz, Irving recorded his first career triple-double with 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebound.The triple-double was the first since March 16, 2010.Irving scored a career-high 44 points in a 96–94 overtime loss to Charlotte.Irving averaged 20.8 points, 6.1 assists, 3.6 rebound, and 1.5 steals.
On July 10, 2014, Irving signed a five-year, $90 million contract extension.His contract extension came in the wake of Kevin Love's request for a trade from Minnesota and the return of the "Big Three" in Cleveland.During their eight-game winning streak, Irving averaged 19.3 points per game, including a 37 point game against the New York Knicks.[54]
After losing their streak on December 11 to Oklahoma City, the Cavaliers went on to win just five more games in December.The Big Three missed time in December and contributed to the team's poor play.On January 2, 2015, the Cavaliers snapped a three-game losing streak with the help of Irving.He scored 23 points, and with Love's 27 they defeated the Charlotte Hornets.In the next game, against Dallas on January 4, Irving scored just six points and left the game in the third quarter with a lower back injury.Irving scored a career-high 23 points in the first half against Houston on January 7 after missing the next game.The team's seventh loss in nine games was due to him finishing the game with a season-high 38 points.[57]
After a six-game losing streak between January 4 and 13 dropped the Cavaliers to 19–20, Irving and James led them to a 12-game winning streak to bring them back into contention.Irving had a career-high 55 points in a game against Portland on January 28.His 55 points were the second-most by a Cleveland player in a home game, behind James's 56, and his 11 three-pointers were a franchise record.His 28 first-half points set a new career high.[58]
Irving scored a career-high 57 points, including a buzzer-beating three-point shot, in a 128–125 win over the San Antonio Spurs.It was the most points for a player in a regular-season game against the defending champion since January 14, 1962, when the Philadelphia Warriors lost to the Celtics.The effort surpassed the franchise single-game scoring mark of 56 points, set by James against the Raptors in 2005.61
The final 43 games of the regular season were won by Irving.The Eastern Conference has a 53–29 record.In his first career playoff game, Irving scored 30 points in a win over Boston in the first round of the playoffs.He played in the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise history despite missing two games due to a knee injury.After leaving Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors in the overtime period with a knee injury, Irving had to have surgery the next day and will be out for three to four months.The team lost the series to the Warriors in six games.
Irving was not expected to be ready for the opening night of the 2015–16 season due to his left knee injury.He made his season debut on December 20, scoring 12 points in 17 minutes as a starter against the Philadelphia 76ers.He scored a season-high 32 points in a win over the Wizards.He had a career high of 12 assists in a 120–100 win over the Kings on February 8, tying his season high.He scored 35 points in a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.71
The first seed in the Eastern Conference was the Cavaliers with a 57–25 record.In the first round of the playoffs, Irving scored a playoff career-high 31 points in a win over the Pistons.He scored 31 points in the fourth game of the series to tie the record.TheCleveland went on to breeze through the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 12–2 record to reach the 2016 NBA Finals, where they faced Golden State for the second straight year.Irving struggled with his shot in his debut Finals game, going 7-of-22 from the field for 26 points, as the Cavaliers were defeated 104–89 in Game 1.Facing a 3–1 deficit after a Game 4 loss, Irving and James took over in Game 5, each scoring 41 points to lead the Cleveland to a 112–97 win.The first teammates to score 40 points in an NBA Finals game were Irving and James.In the seventh game of the series, Irving hit a three-pointer with 53 seconds left in the game that helped the Cavaliers to a 92–89 win.It was the first time in 52 years that a major sports championship was not won in Cleveland.[75]
On October 25, 2016 after receiving his first championship ring, Irving scored a game-high 29 points in a 117–88 win over the New York Knicks.Three days later, he scored 26 points and hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 44.3 seconds remaining to lift the Cavaliers to a 94–91 win over the Raptors.He scored 19 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter of the victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.On December 5, he had a career-high 10th straight game with at least 20 points, finishing with 24 points in a 116–112 win over the Toronto Raptors.He had a career-high 13 assists in a win over Milwaukee on December 21.He scored 35 of his season-high 49 points in the second half of a loss to New Orleans.On February 1, he set a new career high with 14 assists in a 125–97 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.He scored 43 points in a 135–130 win over the Atlanta Hawks on March 3.The NBA regular-season record for three-pointers was set by the Cavaliers.He scored 46 points in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers.He scored 45 points in a loss to Atlanta on April 9.[86]
In Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, Irving scored a playoff career-high 42 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 112–99 win and a 3–1 lead in the series.In the fifth game of the series, he scored 24 points to help the Cleveland win their third straight Eastern Conference title and a return trip to the NBA Finals.Irving scored 40 points in the fourth game of the NBA Finals to help the Cleveland cause a 137–116 win over the Golden State Warriors.The Warriors went on to win the series 5–1.
In July of last year, Irving requested to be traded from the Cleveland to his own team.On August 22, he was traded to the Boston Celtics in exchange for the Brooklyn Nets' first-round draft pick.The Celtics agreed to swap a 2020 second-round draft pick with the Miami Heat in exchange for Thomas' failed physical.93
In his first game for the Celtics, Irving had 22 points and 10 assists in a loss.He had a chance to tie it at the end, but missed.He scored 24 points in the Celtics victory over the San Antonio Spurs.The Celtics beat the Spurs for the first time since 2011.In his first six games as a Celtic, Irving scored 128 points, the most since Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen did it in 2007.He scored 35 points in a win over the Atlanta Hawks in November of last year, his first 30-point game as a Celtic.The Celtics have won nine in a row, their longest winning streak in seven years.[98]
On November 20, 2017, he scored 10 of his season-high 47 points in overtime as the Celtics rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks and extend their winning streak to 16 games.The streak ended with a loss to the Miami Heat.He scored 40 points in a loss to the Magic.By mid-January, the Celtics had a 34–10 record, but their third straight defeat was their worst of the season.He scored 37 points on 13-for-18 shooting with five 3-pointers in a 109–105 loss to the Golden State Warriors.Irving helped the Celtics improve to 4–0 following the All-Star break with a 134–106 win over the Charlotte Hornets.Irving made 13 of 18 shots and was 4-for-8 from three-point range in the first three quarters.He was ruled out for three to six weeks after undergoing a minimally-invasive procedure to remove a tension wire in his left knee.Less than two weeks later, he was ruled out for the entire playoffs, with a recovery time of four to five months, after another procedure was scheduled to remove two screws from his knee.104
In the Celtics' season opener on October 16, Irving played in his first game since March and had seven points and seven assists in a 105–87 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.He missed his first nine attempts from the field and did not score until he hit a pair of free throws early in the third quarter.After scoring 14 points in the first six games, Irving scored 31 in a win over the Pistons.He scored 18 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter and overtime of the Celtics' 116–109 win over the Phoenix Suns.He had a season-high 43 points and 11 assists in a 123–116 overtime win over the Toronto Raptors on November 16.He became the first Celtics player to do so since 2001 when he scored at least 40 points with 10 or more assists.He scored 38 points in a 130–125 overtime win over the Washington Wizards on December 12.He had 40 points and 10 rebound in an overtime win over the 76ers.He scored 22 of his 26 points in the second half of the Celtics' 112–103 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.His 13 assists were his best of the season and one short of his career high.He had a career-high 18 assists in a 117–108 win over the Raptors on January 16.[ 112]
He had a career-high eight steals in a win over the Miami Heat.He had 32 points and 10 assists in a loss to the Golden State Warriors.He became the first Celtic with 11 of that kind of double-double since Larry Bird in 1986–87.It was Irving's sixth straight game with at least 25 points, matching the longest such streak in his career.He became the first Celtics player to record 30-plus points and a triple-double in the same game since February when he did it against the Kings.He had 30 points, 11 rebound and nine assists in a 129–120 win over the Atlanta Hawks two days later.In his first playoff game as a Celtic, Irving became just the third player in franchise history to have 20-plus points, five-plus assists, and five+ rebound in his debut with the team.In the second game of the series, Irving scored 37 points.In the first game of the second round, Irving had 26 points and a playoff career high-tying 11 assists in a 112–90 win over Milwaukee.[118]
Irving signed with the Brooklyn Nets on July 7, 2019.Irving became the first player in NBA history to score 50 points or more in a team debut when he did so for the Nets on October 23, 2019.Irving became the seventh player in franchise history to score 50 points or more in a single game, and the only one to also record 15 combined rebound and assists.He scored 25 of the Nets' 56 points in the first half.[118]
After missing 26 games due to a right shoulder injury, Irving returned on January 12, 2020, and scored 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting in a win over the Atlanta Hawks.On January 25, Irving scored 45 points, also recording six rebound and seven assists, to lead Brooklyn to a 121–111 overtime win over the Detroit Pistons.After learning of the death of Kobe Bryant, Irving left the arena prior to the Nets' game against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.Irving scored a season-high 54 points in a 133–118 win over the Chicago Bulls.On February 20, it was announced that Irving would have season-ending surgery on his injured shoulder.130 and 131.
In the Nets' season opener on December 22, Irving had 25 points, four assists, and four rebound in a 125–99 win over the Golden State Warriors.In a 123–95 win over his former team, the Boston Celtics, Irving had 37 points and eight assists.Irving had a season-high 45 points in a 109–113 loss to the Dallas Mavericks.[134]
Irving was named an Eastern Conference starter for the 2021 NBA All-Star Game.With the conclusion of the regular season, Irving became the ninth player in NBA history to join the 50–40–90 club, representing the shooting percentages from the field, three-point line, and the free throw line.Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Larry Bird are the other players who have averaged over 25.0 points.[136]
Irving was in the running for a position on the Australian team.He chose not to represent his nation of birth, instead focusing on the selection of the United States national team for the 2016 Olympic Games.[137]
Irving was a member of the US national basketball team that competed in the World Cup.He was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after helping Team USA win the gold medal.He scored 26 points in the gold-medal game of the tournament and started all nine games.He was named the USA Basketball Male athlete of the year.[140]
Irving helped Team USA win the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics.He became the fourth member of Team USA to win an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in the same year, joining Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and LeBron James.[139]
Irving played the role of Uncle Drew in a series of advertisements.He wrote and directed episodes 2 and 3, in which he starred alongside Bill Russell and Kevin Love.The fourth episode of "Uncle Drew" was written and directed by Irving and starred Baron Davis.Ray Allen and B. Smoove.The Uncle Drew advertisement series became a skit inside an old school diner with the original logo, stored in a fridge.In June of last year, Irving starred as the character in Uncle Drew, a film that also features former NBA stars and was released.[140]
Irving appeared on an episode of the Disney XD series Kickin' It in 2012 and guest starred on Family Guy in the season 17 episode "Big Trouble in Little Quahog".[147]
Irving's shoe deal with Nike is worth over a million dollars.His signature sneakers were the second best-selling line of the year.The trend of signature sneakers is projected to continue into the year.Irving collaborated with the television shows Friends and SpongeBob SquarePants.The last collection sold out immediately.150
Irving has a journal.He likes to sing, dance, and play the sax.His uncle is a former NBA player.His cousin, who played basketball at the University of Kentucky before declaring for the NBA draft, was a highly rated basketball player.Irving has a daughter with his ex-girlfriend, Azurie Elizabeth Irving, who was born on November 23, 2015.Elizabeth was given to Azurie in honor of Irving's mother.[151]
Irving made a promise to his father to finish his degree in five years.He claimed in 2016 that he was putting his plans on hold because he didn't have a degree.He launched his underwear collection in 2015.It was 155.