Kyrie Irving Andrew ( born March 23, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
He was named Rookie of the Year after being selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick inthe 2011 NBA draft . A seven-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA Team member , he won an NBA Championship with the Cavaliers in 2016.
Kyrie Irving Biography
Irving was born in Melbourne, Australia, on March 23, 1992; son of Drederick and Elizabeth Irving, expatriate Americans, and stepson of Shetellia Irving.
He has an older sister, Asia, and a younger sister, London. His father, Drederick, played college basketball at Boston University alongside Shawn Teague and coach Rick Pitino. After completing his college career, Irving’s father moved to Australia to play professionally for the Bulleen Boomers in the SEABL.
Irving lived in the Melbourne suburb of Kew before moving to the United States when he was two years old. He has dual US and Australian citizenship. His mother, who was Sioux, died of illness when he was four years old, and Drederick raised him together with the help of Irving’s aunts.
He is an enrolled member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and was given his Lakota name, Ȟéla (Little Mountain), in 2018 to honor both his heritage and the donations he made to the tribe. during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. Since then, he has continued to honor his Lakota heritage through donations to the tribe, designing Nike shoes dedicated to his tribe, and burning sage before every game. 
Irving grew up in West Orange, New Jersey, where he frequently attended his father’s adult league games. His inspiration to play in the NBA came after playing at the Continental Airlines Arena during a field trip in fourth grade, when he declared, “I’ll play in the NBA, I promise.
” Because of his father’s connection to Boston University, Irving spent a lot of time in Boston, including at BU’s basketball skills camp. In fifth grade, then-head coach Dennis Wolff offered him a scholarship to Boston University.As a teenager, Irving played for the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Road Runners.
Irving played for Montclair Kimberley Academy as a freshman and sophomore in high school. He averaged 26.5 points, 10.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 3.6 steals and became the second 1,000-point scorer in school history. As a sophomore, he led MKA to its first New Jersey Prep ‘B’ state title.
After that year, he transferred to St. Patrick High School because he felt that he needed a greater challenge. He had to sit out the first 30 days of the St. Patrick’s season due to the transfer. At St. Patrick, Irving played Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who was widely considered one of the best players in the class of 2011.
In his first season, Irving averaged 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game, leading the team to its third New Jersey Tournament of Champions title in four years. In August 2009, he led the US East to the tournament title in the Nike Global Challenge. He was the MVP with 21.3 points and 4.3 assists per game.
The following year, St. Patrick was banned from the state tournament for practicing before the permitted start of the winter sports season. St. Patrick went 24-3 and won the Union County Tournament championship as he finished his senior year with 24.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game.
On January 19, 2010, Irving was selected to the 2010 Junior National Team. The team played in the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon on April 10. He was also selected to play in the 2010 McDonald’s All-American Game and the 2010 Jordan Brand Classic, where he was named co-MVP with Harrison Barnes. In June 2010, Irving was part of the United States’ gold medal-winning team at the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship.
Irving became engaged to Duke on October 22, 2009, in a television broadcast on ESPNU. Irving played for the Blue Devils during the 2010–11 basketball season under head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Through the first eight games of the season, he averaged 17.4 points per game on 53.2% shooting, 5.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.5 steals.
Irving was a strong contender for the NCAA Freshman of the Year until he suffer in his right big toe during the ninth game of the season. On March 17, the day before Duke faced Hampton in the first round of the NCAA tournament, he returned for his first game since his injury.
Duke advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament but fell to Arizona. Irving scored 28 points in what turned out to be his last game for Duke.
Kyrie Irving Career
Cleveland Cavaliers (2011-2017)
2011–12 Season: Rookie Of The Year
Irving announced that he would forgo his final three seasons of eligibility and enter the 2011 NBA draft, where he was selected with the first overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Irving was included in the 2012 Rising Stars Challenge, where he played for Team Chuck.
Irving scored 34 points in the game, going 8-for-8 from three-point range, and earned Most Valuable Player honors. He also won the 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year award with 117 of a possible 120 first-place votes. He was the only unanimous selection to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. For the season, Irving averaged 18.5 points, 5.4 assists, and shot 46.9% from the field, including 39.9% on 3-pointers.
2012-13 Season: First All-Star Season
At a Las Vegas Cavaliers practice on July 14, 2012, Irving suffered a broken right hand after reportedly slamming it into a padded wall after committing a turnover. “I’m a little disappointed,” she said. “I have to be more responsible with my health. It was crazy. It happened so fast.” It was announced that Irving would require hand surgery on July 18.
At the start of the 2012–13 NBA season, Irving injured his index finger in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks. He played in the Cavaliers’ next game, but the injury forced him to miss three weeks of action.
2013–14 Season: All-Star Game MVP
Fans chose Irving to be the starting point guard for the Eastern Conference in the 2014 NBA All-Star Game. He was the Most Valuable Player of the All-Star Game, recording 31 points and 14 assists as the East beat the West. 163-155.
On February 28, 2014, Irving recorded his first career triple-double with 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in a 99–79 win over the Utah Jazz. This was also the Cavaliers’ first triple-double since March 16, 2010. On April 5, 2014, Irving recorded a career-high 44 points in a 96–94 loss in time. extra against the Charlotte Bobcats. Irving averaged 20.8 points, 6.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.5 steals on the season.
2014–15 Season: Formation Of The Big Three And First NBA Finals
After their streak-ending loss on December 11 to Oklahoma City, the Cavaliers won just five more games in December, ending 2014 at 18–14. All of the new Big Three lost time during December, which contributed to the team’s inconsistency and lackluster play. The Cavaliers began their 2015 schedule on January 2 when they snapped a three-game losing streak with the help of Irving.
He scored 23 points, and with 27 from Love, the Cavaliers defeated the Charlotte Hornets, 91–87. he Cavaliers’ next game, against Dallas on January 4, was a season low for Irving, who scored just six points before leaving in the third quarter with a stiff lower back; the Cavaliers lost, 109–90.
Irving missed the next game, against Philadelphia, before returning to action on January 7 against Houston to tie a career high with 23 points in the first half. He finished the game with a season-high 38 points, but was unable to lead the Cavaliers to a victory, as they lost 105–93, the team’s seventh loss in nine games.
After a six-game losing streak from Jan. 4-13 that left the Cavaliers 19-20, Irving and James took them on a 12-game winning streak to put them back in contention. During the streak, Irving averaged 24.5 points per game, including a career-high 55 points on Jan. 28 against Portland.
His 11 3-pointers in that game set a Cavaliers franchise record, while his 55 points were the second-most in Cavaliers history (behind James’ 56) and the most scored in a home game, as well as the most points scored in Quicken Loans Arena history. His 28 points in the first half also set a new career high for points in a half.
On March 12, 2015, Irving scored a career-high 57 points, including a buzzer-beating three-point shot to send the Cavaliers into overtime, in a 128–125 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
It was the most points by a player in a regular season game against the defending champion since January 14, 1962, when Wilt Chamberlain scored 62 points for the Philadelphia Warriors in a loss to the Celtics. he effort also surpassed the Cavaliers’ franchise single-game scoring point mark of 56, set by LeBron James against the Toronto Raptors on March 3, 2005.
Irving helped the Cavaliers win 34 of their last 43 games to finish the regular season as the second seed in the Eastern Conference with an overall record of 53-29. In his first career playoff game on April 19, Irving scored 30 points in a 113–100 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of their first-round playoff matchup.
He then helped the Cavaliers reach the NBA Finals for the second time in franchise history despite missing two games in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Atlanta Hawks with a knee injury.
After leaving Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors in overtime with a knee injury, Irving was ruled out of the rest of the series the next day with a fractured left patella that required surgery, shelving it for three to four months. The team lost the series to the Warriors in six games.
Season 2015-16: NBA Championship
On August 27, 2015, it was ruled that Irving was unlikely to be ready for the opening night of the 2015–16 season due to the fracture of his left patella that he suffered in Game 1 of the 2015 NBA Finals. He made his season debut on December 20, scoring 12 points in 17 minutes as a starter against the Philadelphia 76ers.
On January 6, he scored a season-high 32 points in a 121–115 win over the Washington Wizards. On February 8, he tied his season high of 32 points and tied his career high of 12 assists in a 120–100 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Two days later, he surpassed his season high with 35 points in a 120-111 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Cavaliers finished the regular season as the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 57-25 record. In the first round of the playoffs, the Cavaliers faced the eighth-seeded Detroit Pistons, and in a Game 1 win on April 17, Irving scored a career-high 31 points in the playoffs. He tied that mark with another 31-point game in Game 4 of the series, helping the Cavaliers sweep the Pistons.
The Cavaliers breezed through the Eastern Conference playoffs with a 12–2 record to reach the 2016 NBA Finals, where they met Golden State for the second year in a row. Irving struggled with his shooting in his first Finals game, going 7-of-22 from the field for 26 points, as the Cavaliers were routed 104–89 in Game 1.
Facing a 3-1 deficit afterwards Coming off a Game 4 loss, Irving and LeBron James took over in Game 5, each scoring 41 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 112–97 victory, forcing a Game 6. Irving and James became the first teammates to score 40 points each in an NBA Finals game.
In Game 7, Irving hit a 3-pointer with 53 seconds left in the game that propelled the Cavaliers to a 92-89 lead and an eventual 93-89 win. The Cavaliers won the series 4–3 and became the first team to come back from a 3–1 Finals deficit, ending a 52-year drought of major sports championships in Cleveland.
2016–17 season: Final Season With The Cavaliers
On October 25, 2016, after receiving his first championship ring before the season opener, Irving scored a game-high 29 points in a 117–88 win over the New York Knicks. Three days later, he scored 26 points and hit a 3-pointer with 44.3 seconds remaining to lead the Cavaliers to a 94–91 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
On November 27, he scored 19 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter of the Cavaliers’ 112–108 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. On December 5, he had a career-best 10th straight game of at least 20 points, finishing with 24 points in a 116–112 victory over the Toronto Raptors. On December 21, he had 31 points and a career-high 13 assists in a 113–102 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
On January 23, 2017, he scored 35 of his season-high 49 points in the second half of the Cavaliers’ 124–122 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, their fifth loss in seven games. On February 1, he set a new career high with 14 assists in a 125–97 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
On March 3, he had a 43-point effort in a 135–130 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. In the game, the Cavaliers set the NBA regular season record with 25 three-pointers.On March 19, he had a 46-point effort in a 125–120 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. On April 9, he had a 45-point effort in a 126–125 overtime loss to Atlanta.
In Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics, Irving scored a playoff career-high 42 points to lead the Cavaliers to a 112–99 victory, taking a 3–1 lead in the series.
With 24 points in Game 5 of the series, he helped the Cavaliers defeat the Celtics 135–102 to claim their third straight Eastern Conference title and a trip back to the NBA Finals.
After falling 3–0 in the 2017 NBA Finals, Irving scored 40 points in Game 4 to help Cleveland extend the series and avoid a sweep with a 137–116 victory over the Golden State Warriors. The Cavaliers lost to the Warriors in Game 5, losing the series 4–1.
Boston Celtics (2017-2019)
2017-18 season
In July 2017, Irving petitioned the Cavaliers to trade him, reportedly wanting to be more of the focal point of his own team rather than continuing to play alongside LeBron James. The following month, on August 22, he was traded to the Boston Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Žižić, and the rights to the Brooklyn Nets’ 2018 first-round pick.
Eight days later, the Celtics agreed to send the Cavaliers a 2020 second-round draft pick via the Miami Heat to complete the trade, as compensation for Thomas’ failed physical.
In his debut for the Celtics in their season opener against the Cavaliers on October 17, 2017, Irving had 22 points and 10 assists in a 102–99 loss. He had a chance to tie it with a 3-pointer at the buzzer, but missed.
On October 30, 2017, he scored 24 points for the third straight game to help the Celtics defeat the San Antonio Spurs 108–94. It was the Celtics’ first victory over the Spurs since 2011. Irving’s 128 points in his first six games as a Celtic were the most since Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen each had 131 in 2007.
On November 6, 2017, he scored 35 points in a 110–107 win over the Atlanta Hawks, recording his first 30-point game as a Celtic and scoring more points (245) than any player in his first 11 games with Boston. With the win over Atlanta, the Celtics improved to 9–2 with nine straight wins, establishing their longest winning streak in seven years.
On November 20, 2017, he scored 10 of his season-high 47 points in overtime as the Celtics rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat the Dallas Mavericks 110–102, extending their winning streak to 16 games. The streak ended at 16 games with a loss to the Miami Heat two days later.
On January 21, 2018, he scored 40 points in a 103-95 loss to the Orlando Magic. The Celtics had compiled a 34-10 record in mid-January, but his loss to Orlando was their third straight loss, the worst of the season.
On January 27, 2018, he scored 37 points on 13-for-18 shooting with five 3-pointers in a 109–105 loss to the Golden State Warriors. On February 28, 2018, Irving helped the Celtics improve to 4–0 after the All-Star break with a 134–106 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Irving led Boston with 34 points, shooting 13-for-18 overall and shooting 4-for-6 from 3-point range through the first three quarters.
On March 24, 2018, he was ruled out for three to six weeks after undergoing a minimally invasive procedure to remove a tension cable in his left knee.
Less than two weeks later, he was ruled out of the entire postseason, with a recovery time of four to five months, after another procedure was scheduled to remove two screws from his patella that were inserted in 2015 to repair a fracture he sustained during that year’s NBA Finals.
Brooklyn Nets (2019-present)
On July 7, 2019, Irving signed with the Brooklyn Nets in free agency. On October 23, 2019, Irving debuted for the Nets with 50 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists in a 127–126 overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, becoming the first player in NBA history to score 50 points or more in a team debut.
Irving became the seventh player in franchise history to score 50 points or more in a single game, joining Stephon Marbury (2001) as the only player to also record a combined 15 rebounds and assists. He also scored 25 of the Nets’ 56 points in the first half.
National Team Career
In 2012, Irving was vying for a spot on the Australian team for the 2012 Summer Olympics. However, he chose not to represent the nation of his birth, instead focusing on selection for the United States national team for the 2016 Olympics.
Irving was a member of the United States national team that competed in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. He helped lead Team USA to the gold medal and was subsequently named tournament MVP. He started all nine games of the tournament, averaging 12.1 points and 3.6 assists per game, including 26 points scored in the gold medal game. He was later named the 2014 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year.
In 2016, Irving helped Team USA win the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. With the win, he became the fourth member of Team USA to capture the NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal in the same year, joining LeBron James, Michael Jordan, and Scottie Pippen.
Kyrie Irving Net Worth
Irving’s footwear deal with Nike is worth US$11 million , as of 2019. His signature sneakers were the second best-selling line of 2017, behind LeBron James. The NPD Group no longer tracks signature sneakers, but projected the trend to continue in 2018.
Irving’s themed sneaker collaborations include those on the TV shows Friends and SpongeBob SquarePants . This last collection sold out immediately.
Currently, the NBA star has an estimated net worth of $50 million, including $1 million worth of mansions and a collection of luxury cars.
Kyrie Irving Personal Life
Irving likes to read and keeps a journal. He also likes to sing, dance, and play the baritone sax. His godfather is former NBA player Rod Strickland. His cousin, Isaiah Briscoe, was a highly-rated basketball player who played at the University of Kentucky before declaring for the 2017 NBA draft.
Irving and his ex-girlfriend have a daughter together, Azurie Elizabeth Irving, who was born on November 23, 2015. Azurie’s middle name, Elizabeth, was given to her in honor of Irving’s late mother.
In May 2011, Irving promised his father that he would finish his bachelor’s degree at Duke in five years. However, in 2016, having failed to earn his degree, he stated that he was putting his plans on hold, saying, “when I leave the game of basketball, then I will focus on the next step in my life.”
In 2015, he launched his PSD Underwear collection. 
In November 2016, Irving tweeted his support for water protectors on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation who were demonstrating against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota. Protesters say the pipeline, which runs under the river and through the region’s aquifer, violates treaty law and sacred burial grounds on Standing Rock land;
There is urgent concern that crude oil passing through the pipeline threatens the safety of the drinking water supply not only for the Standing Rock community, but also for many surrounding communities, both Native and non-Native.
In August 2018, Irving and his older sister were honored with a “welcome home” ceremony at Standing Rock, recognizing their family ties to the community. Irving’s mother was a member of the tribe and she lived on the reservation until adopting her at a young age. Her late grandmother and great-grandparents also have ties to the reservation community.
Beginning in the 2016–17 season, Irving transitioned to a more plant-based diet, which he also referenced in a December 2017 Nike advertisement.
In April 2021, Irving announced that he is committed to Islam (and other religions), saying “For me, in terms of my faith and what I believe in, being part of the Muslim community, being committed to Islam and also be committed to all races and cultures, religions, just having understanding and respect.”
