Irving has long been associated with …

Irving has long been associated with The Patrick School, formerly St. Patrick’s High School, where he transformed from an unknown into a national recruit alongside fellow NBA player Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Since returning to the Tri-State area over the summer, Irving has made saving the school into one of his biggest missions. As of last school year, Irving was paying tuition for roughly half the school’s 128 students. He’s already renovated the gym and weight room, among other parts of the school, and when he signed with the Nets last July, he further increased his financial influence with the school. When high basketball season started, Irving started helping out at practice. “There’s a different investment level right now, just being back home,” Irving told The Athletic. “I’m able to come to practices. I’m not too far away now, so I’m able to have more of an impact just being around the community. That’s all I’m after, man. I just want to see these kids do extremely well, have fun playing high school basketball and go from here.”