In 2017-18, rookie Jayson Tatum and second-year player Jaylen Brown led the way for the Boston Celtics alongside All-Star and champion point guard Kyrie Irving.
Irving requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers during the offseason, which he had Boston as a landing spot on the list of teams he gave in the request.
In his first season in Boston, Irving was an All-Star. He averaged 24.4 points per game on 49/41/89 shooting splits with 3.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
Despite being an All-Star, Irving only played 60 games and was ruled out for the remainder of the season after going through a procedure to remove a tension wire in his left knee, ending his season.
Prior to the beginning of the next season, at an event on Oct. 4, 2018, Irving told a group of season ticket holders at the TD Garden that he wants to re-sign with Boston.
“I shared it with some of my teammates as well as the organization and everyone else in Boston: If you guys will have me back, I plan on re-signing here next year.”
Shortly thereafter, Irving didn’t last much longer in Boston and essentially wore out his welcome during his final season in Boston, making the entire city, organization, and team feel differently towards him.
A lot of time has passed since then. Irving has been on two different teams while the Celtics went to multiple conference championships and made a Finals appearance along the way.
Here’s what Irving said about the relationship he has with both Brown and Tatum, lending advice when needed.
Tatum also shared that he enjoyed having Irving as a teammate and the shortcomings were due to the team and not solely on just Irving.
It’s fascinating that the Celtics will be playing against Irving in the NBA Finals after all the history between the two sides.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals is Thursday in Boston at 8:30PM.
Follow us on Twitter @CelticsFiles
Follow me on Twitter @Trombino20
Photo Credit: Brian Babineau, NBAE Getty Images
The Celtics Files 