He\u2019s a box office superstar talent, bringing fans through the turnstiles. Pundits might even argue he\u2019s the most watchable player in the NBA\u00a0with his shifty step-backs and silky smooth layups, moves that he practiced growing up in his West Orange\u00a0home without a backboard square. While fans are left in awe from his on-court craftsmanship, his off-court controversy has ruffled \u00a0at least a few feathers and even prevented him from showing up to work.<\/p>\n
Ever since Irving\u00a0was drafted into the league, his public image has been marked by a series of controversial statements, which have enraged many fans along the way. Much like Aaron\u00a0Rodgers, Irving has a track record of spreading conspiracy theories behind the mic. He appeared on the podcast \u201cRoad Trippin\u2019\u201d in 2017, where he claimed that the Earth was flat.\u00a0He doubled down in 2018, talking about\u00a0moon landings but\u00a0then later apologized for the comments without actually denying that the Earth was flat.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, he assured Boston Celtics\u00a0fans that he would plan to\u00a0re-sign with the team during\u00a0the 2018\u201319 season, but with Kevin Durant\u2019s\u00a0proposal to form a superteam in Brooklyn, the former Boston star slowly walked back on his promise. The temptation of forming the \u2018Big 3\u2019 was too much for H\u00e9l\u00e0.<\/p>\n
But his time in Brooklyn was certainly not absent from controversy. Although his performance was stellar, he barely showed up to work.\u00a0During the 2021\u201322 season, when millions of New Yorkers went back to work, he refused the COVID-19 vaccination, making him ineligible to play home games in Brooklyn.\u00a0Because he refused to put the team first, Irving spent half the season only playing away games.<\/p>\n
Irving also missed more games due to reasons unrelated to vaccines. In October 2022, he tweeted a link to the film \u201cHebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America,\u201d\u00a0which has been deemed antisemitic. The Brooklyn Nets suspended Irving indefinitely without pay until he partially apologized for the comments without fully condemning them. Nike later severed ties\u00a0with the hooper for his promotion of his film, and his signature sneaker was discontinued. Again, Irving could not help himself from taking to X, formerly Twitter, and stirring controversy. The team later suffered without him.<\/p>\n
Irving\u2019s selfishness was undoubtedly the cause of the separation of the \u2018Big 3.\u2019\u00a0While Durant, Irving and James Harden\u00a0were certainly efficient when they played together (and clearly would have won the championship in 2021 if Durant didn\u2019t have the feet of a baguette), they were on the court together for only 16 games in an 82-game season. Their time together was astounding, but their limited appearances as a trio were certainly due to Irving\u2019s inability to get his act together. By April 2023, not one of them played basketball for the Nets. Although the trio brought the franchise within contention for the first time since the Jason Kidd\u00a0era, Irving almost certainly caused the superteam to disband.<\/p>\n
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