NBA superstar Kyrie Irving received a standing ovation from a sold-out Barclays Center last night for his return.
Following NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ lifting of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for athletes and performers, the unvaccinated Irving was finally allowed to play on his home court, for the first time this season. The game did not bode well for him and the Nets, however, as Irving missed 15 of his first 17 shots, and the Nets ended up dropping the game to Charlotte, 119-110.
“I don’t take it for granted what happened tonight,” Irving said after the game. “It was historic and I’m grateful that I got a chance to be out there with my brothers and just leave it all out there. Not the result we wanted. I didn’t shoot as well as I wanted. Basically none of the things I had hoped for going well tonight. It just didn’t happen.”
Hornets take down the Nets in Kyrie's first game at home
LaMelo went off: 33 PTS | 7 threes | 7 REB | 9 AST pic.twitter.com/jhoHZybsp0
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 28, 2022
Irving made his stance regarding the removal of the vaccine mandates clear. “Tonight, my presence out there was just bigger than the basketball game. I was just representing a lot of individuals that are out there in a similar situation as me. And now that I can play, I think we should be opened up for everybody.”
Irving notably did not score at all in the first quarter, with his first coming at the beginning of the second quarter, when he made a three-pointer and free throw. Before halftime, the Nets led the Hornets by as much as 14 points, but in the second half of the game, Charlotte made the comeback. The rest of the game was a back-and-forth matchup, with Brooklyn tying the game towards the end with a critical shot. However, the Hornets pulled away with the win.
“The point of this season for me was never to just take a stance,” Irving continued. “It was really to make sure that I’m standing on what I believe in, in freedom. Freedom, I don’t think that’s a word that gets defined enough in our society, about the freedom to make choices with your life without someone telling you what the f**k to do and whether that carries over to nuances of our society that politicians control, the government controls, or things people who are in power — the powers that may be.”
NBA Superstar Kyrie Irving on remaining unvaccinated:
“I AM NOT A SLAVE” pic.twitter.com/ygCIO13wr3
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 28, 2022
Irving has been allowed to play away games in cities where there are no vaccine mandates. Making his season debut on January 5 in Indiana, it would be a long battle before the superstar made his eventual return to the Barclays Center, his first time playing there since a playoff game on June 7, 2021.
Seven games remain for the Nets this season, with five of them being home games. Kyrie Irving is expected to play in all of them, crucial for a team currently in 9th place with a 39-36 record, and fighting for a playoff spot.
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