Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving, left, drives to the basket against Boston Celtics’ Al Horford, from the Dominican Republic, in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016, in Cleveland. AP
BOSTON, Massachusetts—Newly acquired guard Kyrie Irving will wear No. 11 in Boston because the Celtics already have retired the numbers he wore in college and with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Irving wore No. 11 at two New Jersey high schools before switching to No. 1 at Duke. He wore No. 2 with the Cavaliers for the first six years of his NBA career.
The Celtics retired No. 1 for founder and original owner Walter Brown. They retired No. 2 for former coach and general manager Red Auerbach.
In all, the Celtics have retired 21 numbers, with Paul Pierce’s No. 34 next in line for the TD Garden rafters.