Getty Kyrie Irving and Stephen Curry on the court at Chase Center during a game between the Golden State Warriors and the Brooklyn Nets.
Although the Golden State Warriors picked up their 37th win of the campaign against the Nets on Saturday, the game fell well short of being the epic showdown many expected just a few, short weeks ago.
Due to injury, Kevin Durant was once again kept from making his first appearance in front of Warriors fans since he left the team for Brooklyn in 2019. James Harden didn’t play in the game, either. And both teams struggled to hit shots throughout the night, hovering around the 40% mark overall.
However, fans did get to see the Nets’ Kyrie Irving — who scored a game-high 32 points — rekindle his old rivalry with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. After the game, he even referred to the Warriors stars as “legends.” It was Curry who received the biggest praise from Kyrie, though.
“I love Steph, man,” Irving declared. “The guy has completely revolutionized the game.”
Irving’s compliments didn’t stop there.
Kyrie on Steph’s Sterling Example
“The guy has completely revolutionized the game. Going against each other has been great, but I think studying each other has been even more of a special bond” – Kyrie Irving on Stephen Curry
Irving’s postgame media availability was practically a Steph Curry infomercial, as the 2016 NBA champion sang his opponent’s praises at great length. As he put it, Curry provided an example for him to follow as a fledgling pro.
“Coming into the league as a young man in 2011 and only seeing glimpses of what he was capable of because he wasn’t as healthy those early 2000s… But when he caught fire, man, everybody was on notice. Me as a point guard or as a lead guard on my team growing up in Cleveland at the time, he was the guy that really set that standard.”
For Irving, the various aspects of Curry’s game that allowed him to inflict nightly damage on his opponents inspired him to strive for more.
“Catching and shooting off the dribble. Being able to break down his defenders and being able to take three guys with him everywhere that he goes, you wouldn’t be a true student of the game if you’re not watching somebody like that and trying to not only keep up, but challenge his position.”
As a result of watching one another, not to mention their head-to-head battles on the game’s biggest stage, Irving believes that he and Steph have formed something of a kinship.
“I think that’s where our mutual respect has really grown. Going against each other has been great, but I think studying each other has been even more of a special bond.”
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A ‘Brother-in-Arms
Irving made reference to the fact that he and Curry have been lumped together by fans and pundits alike for years. In the end, though, he thinks that the bond that he and the Warriors star share has gone beyond the comparisons.
“I can go on and on about Steph. I love that guy, going against him and having our battles where he’s had 50, 30 something on him. Win-loss,” Irving said. “All the comparisons. All the Instagram pages. All the Twitter feeds. Everything that goes into the media comparing us. I’ve dealt with it. It’s put me in the position of being able to look at him as more of a brother-in-arms.
“But when we’re out there on the floor, we compete at a high level.”
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