Kyrie Irving was a late scratch for the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday due to personal matters. Steve Nash found out shortly before the team officially ruled him out against the Philadelphia 76ers, but had not been in contact with Brooklyn’s point guard. After the game, Nash still had yet to speak with Irving — but a report regarding the point guard’s decision to not play on Thursday surfaced in the middle of Brooklyn’s battle with the Sixers.
Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Heavy.com reported Irving “just didn’t want to play.” Nash addressed the report when it was brought to his attention on a Zoom call with reporters following Thursday’s win.
“I haven’t spoke to him yet,” Brooklyn’s head coach said. “I can’t really comment because I haven’t spoke to hm and it’s personal reasons, so it has to come from Kyrie. But I don’t believe that to be the case.”
Caris LeVert said Irving texted his teammates before the game. He backed Irving, standing by the fact that the point guard was dealing with a personal matter.
“That’s a personal issue for him,” LeVert said. “We support him, You know, he’s our brother. We went out there and competed without him. Like I said, it was a personal issue for him,”
Joe Vardon of The Athletic is reporting Irving will not travel with the Nets to Memphis for Friday’s game against the Grizzlies.
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