- Irving missed most of the Nets’ home games in the 2021-2022 season
- Adams took a parting shot at Irving after the guard was traded to the Mavericks
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Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving took a shot at New York Mayor Eric Adams while torching the Nets for 36 points as Dallas posted a 119-107 win over Brooklyn.
Irving shot 15-24 from the field en route to his 36-point masterpiece and also had five assists in the win.
While inbounding the ball late in the game, Irving heard a fan sitting courtside shout, “Kyrie, why didn’t you play like that when you were in the net?” Why Kai?’
Irving then turned his head to the fan and calmly replied, “Thank Mayor (Eric) Adams for that, man,” before turning his attention back to the game.
The eight-time All-Star’s comment was a jab at Adams about New York’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate during the 2021-2022 season, when Irving was a member of the Brooklyn Nets.
Kyrie Irving took a hilarious photo of New York Mayor Eric Adams as he scored 36 points against Brooklyn
Adams’ NYC Covid-19 vaccine mandate caused Irving to miss many Nets home games
The unvaccinated Irving was sidelined for much of the 2021-22 season due to the city’s mandate for public arenas and private workplaces, as well as the Nets’ decision to bench him for away games, citing their preference for full-time players.
Team officials finally relented in January 2022, allowing him to play road games, and the city followed suit in February 2022 by lifting the indoor mandate, allowing him to play at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The mandate was instituted by Adam’s predecessor Bill de Blasio, but Adams refused to change the mandate’s rules or make an exception for Irving as the Nets season was on the line.
After exiting the playoffs in the first round that season, Nets assistant coach and former NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire admitted that Irving’s frequent absences had a significant impact on Brooklyn this year.
“Yeah, I think it hurt us,” Stoudemire, who has since left the Nets, told ESPN in May. “It definitely hurt us because we didn’t have enough consistency with Kyrie to build chemistry with the group, with the team.
“He only plays away games depending on what city it is… can’t play in New York… that’s why we had different lineups, different matchups depending on the schedule. So it made it hard for us coaches to figure out who’s going to play despite Kyrie. So it was hard for us to make that happen, so yeah, it was part of it.”
Irving was forced to miss most of the Nets home games in 2021-2022 due to the vaccine mandate
Irving was ultimately traded to Dallas just before the trade deadline last year.
After the trade, Adams escalated tensions between himself and Irving after taking a parting shot at the guard on his way out of town.
“I’ll find the team that beats us the most and then send him to that team because we were going to beat that team,” Adams said.
‘…No matter how much talent you have, the ability to get along with your colleagues is more important.’