Nets star Kyrie Irving is expected to clear his suspension for Sunday’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Irving, who missed his eighth consecutive game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday for “conduct detrimental to the team,” has reportedly gone “above and beyond” the criteria the Nets set for his return to the court after he posted the link to a film with antisemitic material on his social media feeds on Oct. 27.
“Kyrie is continuing his journey of dialogue and education,” National Basketball Players Association executive director Tamika Tremaglio told ESPN. “He has been grappling with the full weight of the impact of his voice and actions, particularly in the Jewish community. Kyrie rejects antisemitism in any form, and he’s dedicated to bettering himself and increasing his level of understanding. He plans to continue this journey well into the future to ensure that his words and actions align with his pursuit of truth and knowledge.”
Irving has met with a number of Jewish community leaders and both the Nets and the league are satisfied with how the star guard has approached his suspension, according to The Athletic. Irving has also met with Nets owner Joe Tsai and NBA commissioner Adam Silver. Both Tsai and Silver, in separate statements, said they do not believe Irving is antisemitic.
Irving posted the link to the film/book “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America” on both his Twitter and Instagram feeds in late October, and the post was immediately met with backlash, including a tweet from Tsai condemning Irving’s decision to post the film.
Irving spoke to reporters twice after the post but only apologized after the Nets deemed him “unfit to be associated with the” organization for “failure to disavow antisemitism.”
Shortly after, sneaker giant Nike suspended its relationship with Irving indefinitely.
The Nets missed Irving on the court. After winning four out of the first five games they played without him, the Nets entered Thursday night losers of two in a row.
After star forward Kevin Durant said the starting lineup as currently constructed shouldn’t be expected to win many games, he told reporters in Portland he’s excited for Irving’s return.
“It’s exciting for everybody. We miss Ky, miss his presence out there on the floor. Hopefully it’s soon,” Durant said Thursday. “I haven’t talked to him since we’ve been on the road trip about it, or the last couple days about it. I’m looking forward to his return to the team. Definitely going to give us a much needed spark.”
Durant said Irving, who hasn’t played since Nov. 1, should be able to get up to speed quickly. The star guard was averaging 26.9 points, 5.1 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game before his suspension.
“It’s different playing pickup and then working out and then also playing an NBA game so I’m sure he’ll need a quarter or two to get back into the swing of just the game again,” Durant said. “But that’s more so just the conditioning aspect. He’s a veteran so I’m sure he can handle that.”
