Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets dribbles during the second half against the Atlanta Hawks at Barclays Center on December 30, 2020 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFP
Superstar point guard Kyrie Irving will be out of the Brooklyn Nets’ Saturday (Manila time) game against the Memphis Grizzlies due to personal reasons.
As per reports, Irving also missed the Nets’ 122-109 win over the Philadelphia 76ers for the same reason.
Teammate Caris LeVert said Irving texted the team prior to the Sixers game and that he did not elaborate on why he chose to sit the match out.
Nets head coach Steve Nash, who met with the media two hours before the game, said he had no idea why Irving wasn’t at Barclays Center but he did not talk much on the reasons for his guard’s absence.
“I haven’t spoke to him yet,” said Nash. “I can’t really comment because I haven’t spoken to him and it’s personal reasons. It has to come from Kyrie.”
Worrying about his star player’s whereabouts, Nash hoped that everything is alright with Irving since his absence was due to a private matter.
“I don’t know. I sent him a message. I just found out so I just sent him a message in the last half hour and haven’t heard back yet,” said Nash. “Obviously thinking about him and hope all is well and, yeah, it’s a private matter.”
Irving’s absence coincided with Kevin Durant’s quarantine period due to the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocol.
Irving is averaging 27.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.6 steals in the season.