After a two week hiatus away from the team, Kyrie Irving has finally rejoined the Brooklyn Nets.
He practiced on Tuesday and is expected to suit up against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. We’re finally going to get a look at the new-look Nets with the best superstar trio in the NBA (along with Kevin Durant and newly acquired James Harden).
In the meantime, though, Irving talked a bit about his absence from the team. It was odd. He wasn’t injured, so it was unexpected. He just stepped away and there was very little explanation as to why. All we knew was that Irving was in touch with the Nets front office and head coach Steve Nash.
Irving opened up about it during his media availability Tuesday. Turns out, it seems, he just needed a break.
He said he talked with his teammates and is ready to move on.
Without getting into specifics, he also addressed the reasons for his absence. And, it seems, a lot of it has to do with things going on in the world outside of basketball.
“When things become overwhelming in life, you know, you just got to take a step back and realize what’s important. I’m not alone in this. And that’s just a big thing about also mental health, you know, just coming in and being balanced with yourself and then being able to perform. So, with everything going on in the world politically, socially, it’s hard to ignore. I want to make changes daily. You know, there are so many oppressed communities, so many things going on that are bigger than just a ball going into the rim. So it’s just the balance of it.”
That’s pretty insightful stuff from Irving there.
And, look, his absence was unquestionably weird. And the way he handled it wasn’t the best either. Breaking the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols and attending a party is obviously not the greatest thing to do.
But, at the same time, Irving is human. We all need breaks sometimes — especially when there are unprecedented things going on in the world. Different people are affected in different ways by things. If Irving needed to take a breather after all of the events over the last few weeks, that’s totally fine.
Obviously, Irving is a professional athlete. There’s plenty of incentive to play and earn all of his money here. But, instead, he chose his mental health (and forfeited $800,000 in game checks and was fined $50,000). And that’s a great thing, for both athletes and non-athletes alike. We should all make more room for mental breaks (as should our employers.)
Good on him for realizing he needed to take that breather. Let’s not assume Irving is “fixed” now; the world is still a stressful mess, for so many reasons, and mental healthy isn’t close to binary. But at least now we can take some solace in knowing he’s doing his best to take care of himself, and look forward to watching him play once again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB0R2_F1W4s&feature=youtu.be
