The Dallas Mavericks lost the first two games of the 2024 NBA Finals and now have their backs up against the wall as they return to American Airlines Center for Game 3 on Wednesday night. It's a pretty big game for the Mavericks as no team has ever come back from down 3-0 in the NBA Finals. You might say its the biggest game of most players' lives.
One player who you probably shouldn't say that about is Kyrie Irving, who won the NBA title in 2016. You may recall he hit the go-ahead three-pointer in the final minute of Game 7. You may also remember him playing really well in Game 5 (41 points) and Game 6 as the Golden State Warriors blew a 3-1 lead. Pretty big games! Game 7 will arguably go down in history as one of the most significant games of all-time.
And yet...
Shannon Sharpe said on Monday's 'First Take' that Game 3 of the NBA Finals is "the most important game in Finals history for Kyrie Irving"
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We live in a time where we must be prisoners of the moment. Everything that is happening RIGHT NOW is the most important thing EVER. Which is why not one, but two of ESPN's premier sports talk morning shows discussed whether Game 3 against the Celtics would be the biggest game of Kyrie Irving's career. No, really! That's what ESPN is earnestly discussing on their premier morning shows. It started on Monday when Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe went on First Take and said, "This is the most important game in Finals history for Kyrie Irving."
Then, Tuesday morning on Get Up, they played the clip of this ridiculous statement and ex-NBA guard Tim Legler said, "I don't think that's necessarily an overstatement" as a chyron appeared on the bottom of the screen that read, "Is Game 3 the biggest of Kyrie's career?"
"Kyrie Irving is the key to the entire thing. Is this going to become a series or not? A lot of it is going to be at the feet of Kyrie Irving in Game 3."
—@LegsESPN pic.twitter.com/EpX0af0T44
Thank God for ESPN's Zach Lowe and Monica McNutt, who are apparently the only people on these shows old enough to remember what happened way back in 2016. While McNutt laughed, Lowe said, "I think it's crazy to say that this game is the biggest game Kyrie Irving has ever played when in in the Finals when he played in a Game 7 on the road against a 73-win team."
Only a few days left of the NBA season before we shift to equally insane conversations about the NFL.
STEPHEN DOUGLAS
Stephen Douglas is a Senior Writer on the Breaking & Trending News Team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in journalism and media since 2008, and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Stephen spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and has previously written for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.
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