Stephen A. Smith wants a fresh chapter with Kyrie Irving.
After the Dallas Mavericks guard’s season-ending ACL injury was confirmed, the popular media personality took to his eponymous podcast to address Irving directly.
Irving sustained a knee injury late in the first quarter of the Mavs’ loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.
The injury serves as a major blow to the out-of-sorts Mavericks, with Irving enjoying his best season for the franchise appearing in 50 of their 62 games.
Last February, Irving made the NBA All-Star team and is the only player averaging 20 points on 40 percent from 3-point range and 90 percent from the free throw line.
The 32-year-old overall was averaging 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists this season before he went down.
The veteran guard was quick to speak about his injury as he addressed fans on a live-stream.
“Just wanted to let you guys know that I’m OK and I will be OK moving forward,” he said. “It does suck. A lot. I ain’t going to lie to you guys. This one stings for sure.”
While Dallas general manager Nico Harrison, who is still been under scrutiny following his decision to trade Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis trade, issued a statement.
“Kyrie is the heart and soul of this team, and he has embraced the city of Dallas as his home and our fans as an extension of his own family,” Harrison said.
“His work ethic and absolute dedication to his craft, it’s cut from the cloth of greats. I know it, I lived it, and I see the same ferocity and passion in him that I saw in Kobe.”
Another figure quick to wish Irving well on his comeback was media personality Stephen A., who in the past has clashed with the nine-time All-Star.
@Stephen A. SmithStephen A Smith issued an apology to Kyrie Irving on his podcast[/caption]
Smith and Irving previously had very public feuds surrounding the vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ESPN analyst at the time labelled Irving as “flat-out stupid” for his stance on the vaccine mandate.
Smith would later apologise to the guard for his comments in 2021, and on the latest episode of his podcast delivered an emotional monologue about Irving and his family.
“We wish him nothing but the best, my prayers are with you. Just know that I’m rooting for you bro,” the 57-year-old said about Irving on The Stephen A. Smith Show.
“Kyrie Irving and I have had our differences in the past, years ago. Particularly with COVID going on, some of the situations that he’s gotten himself into I’ve never been shy.
“We’ve even had differences in the past where I had involved his daddy and I’ve gotten to know his daddy and now he and I get along… getting to know him knowing what we’ve seen from Kyrie Irving, we wish him nothing but the best.”
Irving’s injury leaves the Mavericks without two of their superstars as well a cast of other important players on the roster.
Anthony Davis picked up an injury on his debut while Dereck Lively II, Daniel Gafford, and Caleb Martin are also all injured.
The Mavericks now sit at 32-30 after their recent loss and are 3.5 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns for the 10th seed in the Western Conference.
