Kyrie Irving played the best game of his young NBA career on Monday night, but it wasn't the 41 points on 17-of-24 shooting that left the NBA world speechless. Nor was it his 12 points in the fourth quarter that put the lid on an otherwise closely-fought game. It was the fact that he did it on the NBA's biggest stage in a must-win Game 5 on the hallowed grounds of Oracle Arena.
It was the type of outing that his teammate LeBron James — who added 41 points of his own to go along with 16 rebounds and seven assists — called one of the greatest performances he's ever seen in person. And rightfully so.
But for Irving, it hasn't always been smooth sailing. He's basking in the spotlight right now, but the 24-year-old All-Star can't help but remember the darker days. Whether it was missing 26 games of his lone collegiate season at Duke with a right toe injury, his fractured kneecap in Game 1 of last year's Finals that kept him sidelined for the remainder of the series, or, particularly, his first three years in Cleveland.
Before James and Kevin Love joined forces with Irving, he was the team's lone wolf, an NBA youngster with the weight of an entire city on his shoulders. His talent was undeniable, but the team's 78-152 combined record over his first three seasons begged the question: Can he be the savior for an entire franchise?
Fortunately, he didn't have to be.
"It flipped roles when I went from going from the team that was trying to steal a win in a great team's building to sold-out arenas, everyone's coming in to watch us play, and that was a flip," Irving told reporters at Wednesday's practice. "It was a complete 180 from coming in, spotted fans being in there, to everyone just coming in and seeing us play and we're getting all this attention."
The roles have been flipped, indeed.
In the two years since, the team has put together two first-pace Eastern Conference finishes, a 110-54 regular season record, and, most importantly, two consecutive trips to the NBA Finals.
Now faced with the opportunity of a lifetime and a chance to silence his biggest critics, Irving didn't hesitate when asked if he used to crave being on such a stage.
"Absolutely," he said. "Since my rookie year trying to just be on a great team. We know we have great management, great ownership, and when you put great players on one team and this is what I wanted to be a part of. Right here, the magnitude of this moment, being with these great guys in the locker room, a great team just fighting for a championship. That's what I wanted to be a part of."
And fighting for a championship is exactly what they're doing. Back at home but faced with yet another must-win game against the winningest team in NBA history on Thursday night, it's a type of fight Irving hasn't yet seen, but a fight he won't be ill-prepared for.
"As soon as the buzzer ended in Game 5, all I could think about was preparation for Game 6," Irving said. "Watched some film and the next 24 hours would be just solely focused on how we can be better for Game 6."
Follow AJ Neuharth-Keusch on Twitter @tweetAJNK
