Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis are teammates on the Dallas Mavericks after the huge trade that sent Davis to Dallas from Los Angeles in exchange for Luka Doncic. Apparently, it was a partnership years in the making.
Speaking for the first time since he exchanged superstar teammates, Irving revealed to reporters that he and Davis have been plotting to wear the same uniform for a long time— along with another fellow superstar. It turns out Irving and Davis wanted to team up with none other than Kevin Durant back in 2018. Irving went on to explain that, ideally, they all would've been on the Boston Celtics, who would manage to keep Jayson Tatum in this imaginary reality so he could grow under the tutelage of the three All-Stars.
"We all had that vision together to play in Boston," Irving said to ESPN's Tim Bontemps. Danny Ainge had a large responsibility in that, trying to make it happen, make sure I stayed in Boston... In 2018, it was a dream for Kyrie, AD, KD to be on one team and still keep JT and let him grow and then see how that goes."
Irving then went on to explain why things didn't work out.
"But back then, those young guys weren't ready to be in trade rumors, man. Our locker room splintered after that, once they found out. It wasn't JT or (Jaylen Brown), but our locker room splintered once they started figuring out the trade rumors, and our season started going a whole different way.
The full exchange can be found below:
Kyrie Irving said he, Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant talked about playing together in Boston back in 2018, with the hope to do so eventually alongside Jayson Tatum.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) February 5, 2025
“It was a dream for Kyrie, AD, KD to be on one team and still keep JT and let him grow and then see how it goes.” pic.twitter.com/TSAYnNjPQY
What a fascinating alternative universe. There were many rumors at the deadline in 2018 that the Celtics were trying to land Davis, but any possibility of pulling that off went up in flames once Davis's father publicly blasted Boston for a lack of loyalty after ruthlessly trading away Isaiah Thomas (which is quite the quote to look back on given what just happened to Davis). And the C's did try to sign Durant during his 2016 free agency sweepstakes. There's a lot of connective tissue between these three players and the Celtics.
Obviously, it didn't pan out. Davis was traded to the Lakers at the deadline, Boston collapsed down the stretch of the 2018 season, and Irving left in free agency to team up with Durant in Brooklyn instead. All in all it worked out pretty well for half the parties involved. Davis helped the Lakers win a championship and the Celtics won their own title thanks in large part because Ainge refused to trade Tatum or Brown at every juncture. Irving and Durant's partnership with the Nets, meanwhile, was a disaster. Both were eventually traded to Western Conference teams.
At long last Irving and Davis are teammates, though. Six years later.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Kyrie Irving Reveals Old Plan to Team Up With Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis on Celtics .
