Former Boston Celtics All-Star Kyrie Irving returned to another raucous crowd in attendance at TD Garden as the energy from Irving’s misstep after last year’s Game 4 quarterfinal win over the home team carried over into Sunday’s matinee.
Boston fans and, evidently, former Celtics players such as 2008 Celtics champion Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis don’t forget.
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Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis Taunts Kyrie Irving
Davis, who (almost) had a front-row seat to Sunday’s game as fans spent the afternoon booing Kyrie every moment the seven-time All-Star touched the basketball, had a message for Irving.
Irving, who stomped on the face of ‘Lucky’ — the Celtics’ logo after he and the Brooklyn Nets beat Boston to grab a 3-1 lead in their best-of-7 series, last year, turned in a decent performance (19 points, six assists, three steals). However, it didn’t disappoint his former fanbase this time around, as the Celtics fans were too busy soaking in All-Star Jayson Tatum’s 54-point performance en route to a 126-120 victory.
Last year, ‘Big Baby’ had this to say on Instagram.
“Everybody mad at me ‘cuz Kyrie Irving stepped on Lucky, and Lucky got his get-back,” Davis said in his Instagram Story, per MassLive.com’s Brian Robb. “I don’t even care if it’s a logo,” he added. “It means something to me.”
‘Big Baby’ Got Moved Out of Court-side Seats
While donning a t-shirt that read “Respect The Logo” — a direct shot at Kyrie for his antics in 2021, Davis took in the electric matchup between the Celtics and Nets up-close and personal but appeared to be in the wrong seat. Fortunately, ESPN’s cameras managed to capture the awkward exchange on live TV.
Big Baby Davis tried to finesse better seats 😂
As for Kyrie, his defiant act also disappointed another Celtics champion alum, who also spoke out shortly after Brooklyn’s 2021 quarterfinal series, two-time (1981, 1984) champ, Cedric Maxwell.
“I said, ‘Oh no, he didn’t,’ Maxwell said via the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. “Kyrie (Irving) just went to the logo and wiped his foot like he was wiping off some poop.”
Kyrie Irving Says Celtics Fans Will Never Change
Reporters asked Irving about the Celtics fans’ cold welcome during his postgame media availability.
“I know it’s going to be like that for the rest of my career coming in here. It’s like the scorned girlfriend that just wants an explanation on why I left but still hoping for a text back,” Irving said after Sunday’s loss. “It’s fun while it lasted. That’s the relationship that makes it fun.”
Irving expressed his appreciation for the Celtics organization outside of his girlfriend metaphor.
“But the reality is that I’m grateful for my time here in Boston,” Irving added. “Everybody in the front office, everybody in the locker room treated me well. I still have lasting relationships in our league that extend as a brotherhood for us and the league. We still remain close. I was with these guys when they were pups. I just have mutual respect for them, and coming back in this environment, we know what it is.”
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2008 Celtics Champion Trolls Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving at TD Garden