How Kyrie Irving Became The Most Polarizing Player in the NBA

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Published 2022-04-09
Kyrie Irving's controversial career is known for a few things: his incredible skills and highlights, his winning pedigree, and of course, the drama and confusion surrounding his character and personality. He began as the heir to LeBron James' throne in Cleveland, and once the king arrived, the duo seemed like a match made in heaven. They won a ring in 2016, but what followed this success was overwhelming drama. Why did Kyrie request a trade in 2017 from Cleveland? Why did his career in Boston crumble so quickly? Why did he and James Harden develop beef in just under a year? This is how Kyrie Irving became the most polarizing player in the NBA.

Patreon: www.patreon.com/dylandoesbasketball
Twitter: twitter.com/dylanhoops
Tracks Used (in order): controlc.com/a816f653
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
03:54 - Kyrie at Duke University
05:04 - Welcome to Cleveland
05:34 - Rookie Season
07:20 - 2012-13 Season
10:07 - 2013-14 Season
12:05 - LeBron on the Horizon
13:42 - 2014-15 Season
15:29 - 2015 Playoffs
18:01 - 2015 Finals, Knee Injury
19:52 - 2015-16 Season
20:52 - 2016 Playoffs
22:22 - 2016 Finals
24:33 - Kyrie Becomes Unhappy
25:19 - 2016-17 Season
27:27 - Kyrie Requests a Trade
28:49 - 2017-18 Season, First Year With The Celtics
30:07 - Hype in Boston
30:45 - 2018-19 Season
32:34 - What Went Wrong
33:33 - 2019-20 Season
33:56 - 2020-21 Season, Big 3 Forms
35:01 - 2021-22 Season, More Drama
36:13 - Conclusion

All Comments (21)
  • Kyrie is like the kanye of basketball, so much talent but his ability is overlooked due to his attitude and what he does away from the court, his best days were his early ones yet he will always be considered great if not polarising
  • @Jearrod
    Dude lowkey the goat of going to a team and absolutely effortlessly destroying any microessence of team chemistry
  • @AHamp123
    I think a small but important point u missed is remember when the reporter asked Kyrie if he saw LeBron as a father figure and Kyrie said he only had one father Drederick Irving. The media wanted Kyrie to worship LeBron like they did, to the point of almost calling Kyrie his son where to Kyrie it’s like no I’m also a great player. I can understand the frustrations of both sides but I think highlighting that one moment from the media and the questions and narratives they tried to push strained the relationship further than it necessarily needed.
  • @XZA.B
    Kyrie had to find his spot. He thought he was born to be the Main Option, the Best Player. But I think Kyrie has began to realize his role with the Nets. Kyrie is the Best 2nd Option somebody could ask for, he makes any Great Player, Greater.
  • @bruhtater9894
    I just wanna say this man deserves way more subs you can see the dedication and work he puts in these videos and they always end up amazing
  • @JHam2023
    These comments aged well. The same people giving Kyrie sh!t are the same people jumping on the 2024 Kyrie bandwagon
  • @jbmp1390
    Don't know how you don't have more subs yet Dylan. You're out here giving us ESPN level quality breakdowns, analysis and straight up documentaries for free on the regular. Your content is excellent and imo you are just as talented, and important to the world of pro basketball fandom, as some of the biggest basketball channels and commentators on this and other platforms. I know you're gonna hit 100k soon and you're gonna reach even greater heights than that, all in good time. Thank you for providing us with such amazing content and having your own unique voice
  • @ryy4659
    Kyrie is the Neymar of football. Already a big time superstar but wants to be out of his teammate (Messi in this case is LeBron) shadow because he wants the spotlight but fails and has an attitude almost making himself a petty player
  • @MelvinJ64
    Wow, what a great video you made here. Very engaging and non-judgmental. Neutral and objective. I didn't think i was gonna watch it all but i ended up doing so cause your narration kept me engaged. Thank you.
  • @CaptainFracture
    As a new nba watcher thank you for these videos. Feels like I have to catch up on so much but this makes things and history more digestible so keep up the good work dude
  • @oddking1
    My favorite basketball channel ngl, soo much work is put into these videos Everytime a video goes live I immediately watch it, great work!
  • That intro got me hooked right away. Great Video man! Eye test, stats and objectivity.
  • @jyudat4433
    dude your videos are so underrated. idk how you have less than 75k subs. you brought a lot of nostalgia to me thru this vid cuz i followed the nba so much more closely than i do now. i basically didn't pay any attention to the 2021-22 season
  • @Ethan2Tone
    Dude, I clicked your channel looking for more videos to watch from you only to realise I had watched them all. Thank you for another great upload.
  • Kyrie is responsible for about 96% of the bad press around him so i honestly find it hard to see him as a sympathetic figure
  • @ProJcool
    The tremendous research done is impeccable, amazing video and well edited!
  • @SoggyHotDoggy
    As a basketball player, Kyrie’s talent is absolutely unquestionable. He makes playing the game straight of effortless But it’s everything else that has people looking at him differently, from telling Celtics fans he wanted to stay only to switch up like two months later to the way him being the leader of that team went to everything that’s happened with Brooklyn so far. As good as he is, I feeling his off court actions/antics have a tendency to overshadow that-the fact that he gets injured fairly often doesn’t really help
  • Keep up the grind this is some of the best production I’ve seen for basketball videos ever it’s only a matter of time before you blow up
  • @jacknmild
    Best NBA YouTube account BY FAR! Keep up the good work sir. This channel will only continue to grow 🔝