Kyrie Irving and the media have had a pretty topsy turvy relationship this year. Ever since reports came out that Irving would leave the Celtics in the offseason and go to New York, Irving has gotten pretty testy with media members. Add in the fact that the Celtics have struggled at times this season and you've got a perfect storm on your hands. Irving is changing his tune a bit though. After defeating the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday by a score of 120-107, Irving spoke to the media and the challenges he's had this year.
“The way I’ve handled things, it hasn’t been perfect,” Irving told Yahoo Sports. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes that I take full responsibility for. I apologize. I haven’t done it perfectly. I haven’t said the right things all the time. I don’t want to sit on a place like I’m on a pedestal from anybody. I’m a normal human being that makes mistakes. For me, I think because of how fixated I was on trying to prove other people wrong, I got into a lot of habits that were bad, like reading stuff and reacting emotionally. That’s just not who I am.”
Irving also explained how he realizes that his status as one of the league's best players makes him susceptible to media scrutiny.
“Being one of the top guys in the league, this all comes with it,” Irving said. “It’s a responsibility that I have to make sure that I know who I’m doing this for and know why I’m doing this. It’s for the players that are coming behind me who will be in this league and setting an example for them on how to handle things and how to evolve within your career (...) I’m still learning, bro. I come from a suburb of New Jersey. I’m not used to all this [attention]."
The Celtics are currently fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 41-27.