There’s obviously no love lost between Kyrie Irving and the Boston Celtics. The fanfare between the two sides was gone long before the dude decided to leave. But once he did that? It was certainly over.
You rarely see a fanbase make such a turn against a player while also having that player simultaneously return some of that ire, but that’s definitely the case here. Irving doesn’t like Boston and Boston doesn’t like him either.
But what did Irving do to make Celtics fans so mad at him? There’s quite a list of things that turned the relationship there inside out.
Let’s go over some of them.
Irving told Celtics fans he would stay and then didn’t
This is at the crux of it all. Irving told Celtics fans that he’d re-sign with the team. Then he didn’t.
“If you guys will have me back, I plan on re-signing here.” – @KyrieIrving https://t.co/0wDLzuv5WL
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 4, 2018
He also destroyed the team’s chemistry on his way out the door. The Celtics were still good, but it obviously took years to get the vibes back to where they needed to be.
There were some not-so-fun times in Boston after Irving left.
He burned sage in TD Garden
Ok, so this one is a bit complicated. Irving burned some sage in TD Garden ahead of a Nets game back at the arena to “cleanse the energy” of the arena, which Celtics fans definitely took offense to.
That’s not necessarily a slight — burning sage is a key part of Indigenous culture. Typically, it’s done to cleanse and purge negative energies in one’s own home, which is why it’s hilarious that Irving did it at the Celtics’ arena.
Kyrie Irving makes his return to TD Garden.
Coverage of #Celtics-Nets begins at 7:30 p.m. on @NBCSBoston with Celtics Pregame Live! pic.twitter.com/7P82E6EqO9
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) December 18, 2020
Not going to lie — this one was pretty funny. People had a ton of fun with it back then.
Irving stomped the Celtics’ logo
Now, with this one, it’s kind of hard to be upset at Irving here. He stomped the Celtics’ logo after a playoff game at TD Garden with the Nets back in 2021.
Kyrie appeared to step on the Boston logo as he greeted his teammates at half court postgame.
(via @yornoc74) pic.twitter.com/thcXjX15He
— ESPN (@espn) May 31, 2021
To be fair to Kyrie, not long after this a fan was arrested and banned for life from TD Garden after throwing a bottle at Irving and his Nets teammates. That logo stomp felt kind of deserved after that.
Irving called the Celtics a “scorned girlfriend”
This one was definitely rude. He was asked about the boos he receives from Celtics fans at TD Garden. Here’s what he had to say:
Kyrie Irving on playing in Boston: "It's like the scorned girlfriend, wants an explanation on why I left but still hoping for a text back… it was fun while it lasted" pic.twitter.com/DdUTbdvsd5
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) March 6, 2022
“I know it’s going to be like that for the rest of my career coming in here. It’s like the scorned girlfriend, wants an explanation on why I left but still hoping for a text back. It was fun while it lasted,” Irving said.
Yup. Rude.
Kyrie also flipped off Celtics fans after a playoff game
During the Nets’ and Celtics’ playoff showdown in 2022, Irving to a ton of boos from the crowd. That evolved into a “Kyrie sucks” chant.
"Kyrie Sucks" chants break out at TD Garden 👀 pic.twitter.com/mWcByu5epU
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) April 17, 2022
After hitting a shot, he even flipped some fans off.
Kyrie flipped off the Celtics crowd after knocking down this shot. 😅
(via @NBAUK)pic.twitter.com/f1mY7LGBSq
— Bally Sports (@BallySports) April 17, 2022
Yeah, that dude hasn’t had the best relationship with Boston.
