Getty Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving
For some NBA players, leaving the game is very difficult. Many guys who have been around for almost two decades can never seem to get away. Playing the sport into your 40’s isn’t easy, but it’s definitely not rare. I mean, look at Vince Carter and Dirk Nowitzki. Two players over the age of 40, who are still chasing whatever it is they are pursuing. They no longer have anything to prove, but they just don’t want to leave the game.
Not everybody stays that long, but typically the ones who are potential Hall of Famers tend to last a lot longer than expected since they never seem to age too much. You can look around the league and see a few superstars now that will probably last in the league until about 40 years and older. We don’t seriously think LeBron is going to be leaving anytime soon, right?
Plenty of guys can and will play past 35-years-old, but not everybody can make it that far. Some players become ‘washed’ before they hit that age, and others just simply don’t want to play anymore when they get to that. For Boston Celtics’ star Kyrie Irving, he’s in the latter. He has plenty of time left to go since he’s only 26-years-old, but don’t expect to see Kyrie Irving playing until he’s in his 40’s.
Kyrie Wants an Earlier Retirement?
According to Celtics’ reporter Marc D’Amico, Irving doesn’t plan to play past 35-years-old. So, as all of these older players are currently chasing records, we shouldn’t expect Irving to be one of them in a little less than ten years from now. Why? We’re not exactly sure as he didn’t go into details. But maybe, entering the league at 19-years-young would have something to do with it.
Being in the league for that long will definitely take a toll on players physically and mentally. At this point in his career, Irving has accomplished a lot. All-Stars, All-Star MVP, World Champion. Irving has accolades that not every player can say, and he’s only 26.
Assuming that Irving picks up at least a few more accolades during his journey from 26 to the early-to-mid ’30s, he will realize that he doesn’t need another five or six years to keep playing. Hence why Irving is perfectly fine with checking out while still young.