The long anticipated return of NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving to the Brooklyn Nets’ lineup is rapidly approaching. The team will soon have Irving alongside Kevin Durant and James Harden in the lineup—rejoining the “Big 3” the team formed last season.
Irving entered the 2021-22 season unwilling to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in order to comply with the New York City vaccination mandate—preventing him from playing in Nets home games.
The Nets could have chosen to at least allowed Irving to play in road games, but the team opted to not involve him as a ‘part-time player’ after thinking over all of the circumstances.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Kyrie Irving is expected to make his season debut on Wednesday when the Brooklyn Nets take on the Indiana Pacers on the road.
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is expected to make his season debut Wednesday on the road against the Indiana Pacers, sources tell The Athletic, Stadium. After missing the Nets’ first 35 games of the season, Irving has targeted Wednesday for his return.
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After the widespread COVID-19 positive testing results causing teams—including the Brooklyn Nets—to be significantly short-handed at times. Now, the team feels it’s important to have Irving back into the fold to at least have another contributor on road games.
Irving is coming off a highly impressive 2020-21 season with the Nets that featured averages of 26.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 6.0 assists. He posted 50-40-92 shooting splits along the way—placing him in the illustrious ’50-40-90 club’ with his scoring efficiency.
It remains to be seen what the long-term trajectory is for Irving with the Nets. New York City does not sound as though they will be making changes to their COVID-19 vaccine mandate anytime soon.
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With the Brooklyn Nets playing in a market with the strictest mandates in the United States, perhaps they will have to end up waiting for the proverbial ‘end’ of the COVID-19 pandemic if they want to have Kyrie Irving as a full-time player.
