Kyrie Irving has made literally thousands of jump shots in his life. But that one over Stephen Curry in the final minute of Game 7 in The Finals not only changed a half-century championship drought in Cleveland, but also Irving’s life. Joe Vardon of cleveland.com tells the tale:
“Yes, my life’s changed drastically,” Irving told cleveland.com Saturday, during Irving’s friendship walk and basketball challenge downtown for Best Buddies, Ohio — an organization that gives social growth and employment opportunities to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“It’s kind of, you’re waiting for that validation from everyone, I guess, to be considered one of the top players in the league at the highest stage,” Irving said. “That kind of changed. I was just trying to earn everyone’s respect as much as I could.”
Irving comes to Cavs training camp Monday not just a champion, but an Olympic gold medalist. He was Team USA’s starting point guard at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, becoming just the fourth player in NBA history to win a championship and a gold medal in the same summer.
Only James, Michael Jordan, and Scottie Pippen had done it before.
In five pro seasons, Irving’s career scoring average is 20.8 points per game. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NBA draft, has already played in three All-Star games, and is entering the second season of a five-year, $94 million contract extension.
So Irving has lived a mostly charmed basketball life, to be sure. And yet The Shot had an unmistakable, recalibrating effect.
“I never thought I’d be an NBA champion when I was 24 years old,” Irving said. “I just had to re-start, regroup and re-prioritize what I wanted to accomplish as a player and also as a teammate, this summer.”
