Boston Celtics: Kyrie Irving explains challenges of NBA superstardom

Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving is a superstar in the league, but at the end of the day all he wants to do is play basketball.

Don’t blame it all on Kyrie Irving, but the five-time NBA All-Star has to shoulder some of the blame for the Boston Celtics underachieving in the 2018-19 NBA season.

The numbers are there and so are the spectacular ball-handling skills, but at the end of the day the Celtics are not the Eastern Conference favorites just about everyone outside of Toronto, Milwaukee or Philadelphia proclaimed.  But, because of the player Irving is and the capability of the deep talent the team has, no one can sleep on the Celtics…when they come to play.

With that being said, Kyrie Irving has come under scrutiny this season and it gets deeper with each loss and each time he answers a question with the same agitation other top stars like LeBron James and Kevin Durant have been notable for recently.

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In fact, Irving referenced those players when explaining his annoyance with the media.  Caught on camera prior to Sunday’s matchup against the Houston Rockets saying he is “not going to miss any of this (expletive) when he is done playing, the Celtics star took some time to open up about the challenges of NBA stardom.

"“I get tired of this stuff, just like everybody else,” Irving told reporters, via The Boston Herald.  “It’s a constant battle, because media has gotten just outrageous, you know what I mean?  Like I just saw something the other day where, I mean, he’s the greatest player playing our game right now, but even seeing somebody like (LeBron James’) body of work, like my body of work, (Kevin Durant’s) body of work. And the team’s success falls on the best player, and whether to call that fair or unfair, nobody should ever question what type of winner those guys are, you know, what type of winner I am or whether or not I have the team first mentality.”"

While no one outside of athletes themselves can understand the pressure star players face in any sport, they have to be able to take the heat with a team fails just as they take the credit when a team is on top, especially in the NBA.

The challenges of an NBA superstar

With free agency looming and all kinds of rumors flying about his potential landing spot and whether he is happy or unhappy in Boston, Kyrie Irving has done his part to feed the media.  By throwing his younger teammates under the bus and simply being disgruntled more times than not, he gives people no choice but to speculate.

Let’s face it, until the Boston Celtics turn things around and prove they just turn it on in the playoffs, the scrutiny Irving referenced in talking to reporters will still be there.  It’s just the nature of the NBA and perhaps what NBA Commissioner Adam Silver was talking about when he said most players appear “unhappy.”

In all, Kyrie Irving’s leadership is in question with this Celtics team.  He knows it, but also recognizes he is not superman.  He wants to be seen as a human being who just happens to be one of the best basketball players in the world.  Within that, he knows he also has to find a way to make players around him better the best way he can.

"“By just realizing that it’s not as bad as you make it seem,” Irving said. “You know, everyone’s not at odds with you all the time. You just get back to the root of what makes you tick and why you love the game of basketball. I’ve said it before, but I didn’t really come into this game to be cameras in my face and be famous, be a celebrity, whatever embodies that. So it’s a little hard for me, I wanted those things when I was younger, but at this point in my career, I just want to play basketball at a very, very high level, and the distractions that come within a team sometimes can get overwhelming, and I’m human”"

Acknowledging that his teammates are capable of playing at an elite level, Kyrie Irving knows it starts with him.  Now, it’s time to have fun, block out the pressures of NBA super stardom, and simply play Boston Celtics basketball.