Native American. Muslim. Designer. Philanthropist. Yes, Kyrie Irving It’s not just what the media portrays: flat earther? Anti-Semitic? Anti-Vax? Sure, he may still have some flaws, but every time he appears in public he confirms that he is the most interesting man in the worldas the famous Dos Equis beer commercial would say. Have you ever tried to connect to one of his Live on Instagram?
The latest, epic one, in chronological order took place a few days ago when, showing up with his typical friendly and relaxed manner, he started without any kind of warning to make some freestyling Live on the sound of the King of Afrobeat Feel Where: Now tell us, how many other NBA athletes could even guess the profession of the revolutionary Nigerian musician?
Sarah Stier//Getty Images
Since the pandemic broke out, now 4 years ago, KAI’s career and life – one of his many nicknames, one more cool of the other – they have had so many shocks that it makes you think several times “This is it”it’s over, there’s no more room for him in the League. He’s probably reached his lowest point right now during the lockdown which the city and state of New York were forced to do: refused the vaccine, forced by the management of the Brooklyn Nets and by state laws to contain the emergency to play only away games, Kyrie takes the field in 103 games out of 246 total regular season games in three seasons, from 2019 to 2022.
And to say that his absolute debut with the Netsthe first of regular on October 23, 2019, was an event that immediately became a instant classic, a cult performance now a cornerstone of all the best highlights of Kyrie’s exploits on the parquet: 50 points and zero turnoverssomething never seen before for a rookie with the new jersey (but defeated in overtime against Minnesota, a detail that adds – and does not take away – spice to the cult).
A crazy show put on by an Irving stimulated by the burning boston experience from which he wanted to free himself as soon as possible. The feud with the Celtics, partially clarified during the 2024 NBA Finals but which at the time had shown the world the darkest side of one of the most unmarkable personalities on the NBA planet, between digs at young rising stars (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart), nervousness on the court and in the locker room, bloody absences (such as the one in Game 7 of the 2018 Conference Finals of his Celtics against Cleveland) and a strongly desired but often poorly applied leadership on the court.
Sage dispersed like incense in the air during warmups for Irving’s first game in Boston as a rival in 2020 – “to cleanse the arena of toxic energies” he explained – it will remain for many the ironic and memorable emblem of that bad period, but for Kyrie it has always meant something deeper of a simple provocative-superstitious gesture: something that has to do with his family and with the search for oneself, for own origins.
Son of the late Elizabeth LarsonAfrican-American and member of the tribe of Sioux Native AmericansIrving had begun to take a serious interest in his roots in 2016, an attempt to keep alive the bond with his mother died when Kyrie was only four years old. In August 2018, at the end of a five-hour ceremony, an emotional Irving officially entered – together with his sister Asia – into the great family of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, the sacred place in North Dakota where Elizabeth was born and raised, also known as the place where Sitting Bull was assassinated.
That day Kyrie Andrew Irving was ritually given his Sioux name: Hello, “Little Mountain” in the Lakota language. From that moment on, his interventions through his social accounts always end with these four letters and the emoji symbol of the index and middle fingers intertwined: on “X” he calls himself “Chief Hélà”on Instagram simply Hello accompanied by the writing that he also tattooed on his left forearm, “A11EVEN Revolution”.
Inspired by Native American heritage and their art Kyrie brought to life to his latest successful projectas usual rising from his own ashes after having seen “tear up” the contract with Nike following the infamous, naive but unforgivable retweet of a trailer on October 27, 2022 (an amateur documentary of a writer conspiracy theorist and anti-Semite). February 26, 2024 Anta, one of the most important Chinese multinational sports companiesreleased the first, wonderful collaboration with Irving, the “Anta KAI 1” – one of the best sneakers basketball of the year – featuring ancestral and Sioux themes and, as a flagship piece hooked on the back, the bird feather that Kyrie often wears as an earring.
Needless to say, all the colorway they are gone sold out within a few dayswith lines stretching for miles since dawn and the first customers welcomed by Irving himself in the Dallas store (“Is $125 too much?” he asked the first one). An impact on the market of sector which, as far as KAI is concerned, has not been seen since the unforgettable Nike Kyrie5 line dedicated to the cartoon “Spongebob” (yes you understood correctly): the collaboration with the Beaverton company will be missed by many fans, and some models will remain in the memory forever (like the very first dedicated to the mother with the date of his disappearance and his name printed on the shoe) but the new course with Anta seems perfect for a creative mind that too many limits should not be placed to express himself at his best.
They also noticed it in Dallas when “Uncle Drew” arrived in February 2022, after having made it abundantly clear to the Nets that the sooner the divorce came the better. Treated right from Day 1, the former number 11 has proven to be a great fit for the Mavericks. the perfect locker room manthe veteran with the right advice for the younger ones and an unstoppable beast on the pitch, so much so that he became one of the The main protagonists of the Mavs’ surprising ride to the 2024 NBA Finals (lost 4-1 to Boston).
Thanks to a new awareness on the part of Kyrie and his fabulous bond with the other superstar of the team, Luka Doncicwhich surprised many but not us: the mutual respect for each other’s talent was too evident not to think that it could work and the outside world was too influenced by an exaggerated narrative that, waited for at the pass, was denied without appeal by the facts.
An idyllic atmosphere that was reflected on the field and that Mavericks fans hope for let it happen again in this new season with an extra Klay Thompson (and not only) in the engine. In the meantime, Kyrie has also become a reference for the community of Dallas, quietly increasing the dozens of charitable activities he carries out without any kind of advertising, sometimes almost randomly selecting people in financial difficulty from social media and surprising them with bank transfers of thousands of dollars.
There are those who say that it has always been like this and those who instead attribute a certain renewed way of living one’s privileged status both to his entry into the Sioux family and to conversion to Islam arrived in 2020-2021, an event that Kyrie has always kept away from the spotlight but which has already earned him yet another sensational nickname, “Ramadan-Kyrie”for his absurd performances on the field despite the period of fasting imposed by his religion.
Definitely a different profile from the one painted by the ferocious media of New York and Boston in the worst moments of their relationship, and which has given fans around the world the best possible version of what has been defined “the most skilled player ever”the most technical player in the history of basketball.
This could be the last phase of Kyrie’s career, probably the one that – together with his three-year stint with LeBron James in Cleveland culminating with the iconic Game 7 triple in Steph Curry’s face in the 2016 Finals against Golden State – will define the most legacythe sporting and human legacy of this boy. So in love with the Game that he spent time on the Greek beaches this summer teaching some kids some of his best feints to free himself from the defender.
Maybe it won’t be perfect, maybe it will fall for some other bizarre conspiracy theory, but something good should already have started to emerge.
Signed Chief Hélà.
GeDiz GeDiz Kyrie Irving Basketball Wall Art Posters (14) Wall Art Decor for Living Room Bedroom Unframed 30x45cm
Table of Contents
What are Kyrie Irving’s contributions to Native American communities?
The Multifaceted Kyrie Irving: Native American, Muslim, Designer, Philanthropist, and NBA Superstar
Kyrie Irving, the Brooklyn Nets point guard, is often misunderstood by the media, who tend to highlight his controversies rather than his multifaceted personality. But get to know him, and you’ll discover a fascinating individual who embodies the mantra “the most interesting man in the world.”
A Global Citizen with Native American Roots
Born to Elizabeth Larson, a Native American from the Sioux tribe, Kyrie has always been proud of his heritage. In 2016, he began to explore his roots, and in 2018, he officially joined the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, where his mother was born and raised.
