Kyrie Irving's psychological shift is making Celtics and Nets fans eat their words

In 2017, Kyrie Irving requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Irving wanted to show the NBA world that he could be the number one player on a team without NBA great LeBron James.

To do that, the Cavaliers traded Irving to the Boston Celtics. Expectations for Irving in Boston were at an all-time high. Unfortunately for Irving, his tenure in Boston ended roughly after only two seasons. In 2019, Irving joined the Brooklyn Nets to join forces with Kevin Durant.

Just like Boston, Irving's Brooklyn tenure ended rough. In 2023, the Nets traded Irving to the Dallas Mavericks. Fans from the Celtics and Nets were happy to see the Irving drama go away. However, prior to tearing his ACL earlier this month, Irving had a psychological shift that helped him become a better player in Dallas.

Irving's leadership focus in Dallas is completely different from past stops

The Maverick fans will never get over when the franchise traded Luka Doncic. While the Mavericks received Anthony Davis in the trade, he only got to play one game for the team before getting injured. The Doncic trade is shaping out to be one of the worst moves in not only Mavericks history but in NBA history.

In the time that both Doncic (before the trade) and Davis weren't playing, Irving embraced his role of being the Mavericks' leader. Irving was the only Maverick to be selected for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, and he helped hold things together during an insane season.

In the entire month of February, Irving averaged an impressive 27.8 points per game. Before getting injured, Irving recorded five 30-point games and one 42-point game. Irving's teammates highly praised his leadership even without a co-star.

"I'm just grateful," Irving said. "I don't take it for granted, their sentiments. It's been a journey for me in the league, to figure out what it means to be a great teammate and not just shoot the ball all the time and be relied upon to be the main guy."

Irving had issues in Boston and Brooklyn before joining Dallas. Irving was criticized for not living up to being a top guy on a roster. Irving's Boston tenure ended awful and he was criticized for not taking the Celtics to the promised land.

In Brooklyn, Irving was criticized while playing alongside James Harden and Durant. It seems that Irving matured hugely and accepted his new role of being a leader when he finally got to Dallas to play with a rising Doncic. Before being traded, Doncic enjoyed playing with Irving and would let him be the closer and leader that he is.

Despite all the criticism toward Irving, he isn't worried about what is said about him off the court.

"Judging me off the court for who I am and how I show up for my family and my friends and my community, that's so much more important cause that's what I'm gonna be remembered for," Irving said.

As much as Irving is loved by the Maverick players and their fans, there could be some uncertainty. After this season, Irving has a player option and could become a free agent. With his impact in Dallas being so critical, Irving would be another player Maverick fans would be angry about if they were to lose him.