Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving returned to the hardwood on Friday night after sitting out Wednesday night's game against the New Orleans Pelicans due to the maintenance of a bulging disk in his back, and he helped lead Dallas to a needed 106-98 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Irving's back was feeling much better in his return, and he ended up dropping 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists while shooting 9-19 from the field and 3-8 from downtown. He is still shaking the rust off after being out for multiple weeks, but his performance was strong enough to lead Dallas past the No. 1 seeded Thunder.
After the game, Irving took a brief trip down memory lane while reminiscing about the trade that sent him from the Brooklyn Nets to the Mavericks at the 2023 trade deadline, and his sarcastic message about this move truly shows how badly Dallas robbed Brooklyn.
Irving sarcastically evaluates trade that sent him from Brooklyn to Dallas
"Best trade in the business baby," Irving said with a laugh. "We won that trade! We won that trade! I was bad goods."
Dallas traded Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, a first-round pick, and two second-round picks to the Nets for Irving and Markieff Morris. If you can't already tell by the details of the trade, it's looking like highway robbery in Dallas' favor as the two-year anniversary of the move approaches. The trade looks even better for the Mavs considering they signed Dinwiddie back in the offseason, and they even considered bringing back Finney-Smith before he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Both players that Dallas traded to the Nets for Irving are now on separate teams, and the Mavericks should be glad that Brooklyn punted on their former all-time great point guard.
Irving has been revolutionary for Dallas, as illustrated by his comment about the trade, and he is never going to forget the banter that surrounded his name at the time of the deal. He has silenced the premature narrative that the Nets won that trade, and he is getting the last laugh as Dallas has shown they can be an elite contender this season when fully healthy, and Brooklyn is 14-28 on the year.
Outside of joking about Dallas winning the trade, Irving also briefly brought up the false narrative that he was "bad goods." There was random talk about Irving being a "locker room cancer" and a "chaos agent" at different points in his career, and both of those points couldn't be more wrong through his first two years in Dallas.
Irving is the unanimous leader of the locker room, and there haven't been any on or off-court issues since he arrived in Dallas. He has done everything that the coaching staff has asked him and more, and his leadership has been irreplaceable.
When it comes to Irving's off-court activity since joining the Mavericks, he has been an excellent role model for fans of all ages. His love for his fans was especially evident after last night's win over the Thunder, as he was signing autographs for fans who attended the game as part of the Native American Heritage outing over two hours after the game ended. He continues to show his true colors as a member of the Mavericks, and he has been the furthest thing from "bad goods" as he tries to lead Dallas to their second NBA Finals win in franchise history.
He is dedicated to greatness on and off the floor in Dallas, and that is the most that fans can ask for. Irving has been a dream come true for the Mavericks, and a Finals win this season would t
