The Dallas Mavericks failed in Kyrie Irving’s first couple of months with the team.
They slipped in the standings and went from being a playoff team to sitting their starters in the season finale.
Nonetheless, they still doubled down on their star duo and put better pieces around them, and the results speak for themselves.
The Mavs are 1-1 in the first-round series vs. the Los Angeles Clippers, and they have now stolen homecourt advantage and are in a position to pull off the upset.
With that in mind, Kyrie talked about how failure can sometimes inspire people to do great things (via NBA).
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Kyrie’s reputation has taken a huge hit over the past three years or so.
His off-court antics and behavior with the Brooklyn Nets made people question whether he was worth all the trouble, as he was seldom available and hadn’t found any sort of postseason success without LeBron James.
Fortunately for the Mavericks, he’s finally made basketball his No. 1 priority again, and he’s one of the best players in the game when he’s locked in.
Even if the Mavs flame out in the first round, this team had proved that Irving can coexist with Luka Doncic, which was a valid concern when they first traded for him.
And even if they don’t manage to win an NBA championship, they’ll continue to be a legitimate contender for as long as he keeps basketball first and stays motivated to overcome all adversity.
