The NBA 2024 Finals will witness a reunion between at least three players and their former teams.
Kristaps Porzingis, who is expected to become available after a long layoff, will face the Dallas Mavericks and Luka Doncic after their failed partnership. Dwight Powell is also a former Celtic.
Kyrie Irving's return to Boston is probably the most intriguing, though.
He and many Celtics fans have often shown that they don't like each other.
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Irving has gone soft with the way he views the Celtics organization.
In an interview with ESPN's Tim MacMahon, he said he is taking responsibility for the way their relationship developed after he left them in 2019.
"[But] I will say last time in Boston, I don't think that was the best - not this regular season, but when we played in the playoffs and everyone saw me flip off the birds and kind of lose my s--- a little bit - that wasn't a great reflection of who I am and how I like to compete on a high level," he said.
Irving is toning down and becoming more focused on basketball while ignoring distractions.
Do not expect Celtics fans to buddy-buddy with him again though. They are gunning for their first championship in 15 years, and they would rather have Irving feel intimidated.
This storyline is one of the most intriguing in the NBA finals.
The question is, when did it all start?
Timeline of the Kyrie Irving-Boston Celtics beef
2019 - Irving left for the Brooklyn Nets
Irving headlined the blockbuster 2017 trade between the Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Celtics supporters' view of him has much to do with his status as a star player.
In his first year, the team reached the East Finals, although he was not there due to injury. They lost in seven games against the Lebron James-led Cavs.
In his second year wearing green, they reached the Eastern semis as a fourth seed but lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in five games.
He was basically underwhelmed in his first stint. However, that's not the entire gripe Celtics fans have.
In the 2019 All-Star Game, he was seen talking to Kevin Durant, and they were rumored to be discussing a team-up.
Irving initially seemed defensive while answering questions about that All-Star meeting.
KD confirmed the rumor is true after Kyrie signed with them at the start of the 2019-2020 season.
2020-2021 Season - Irving 'cleansed' the TD Garden
Irving's visit to the TD Garden was delayed due to his health issues, but then when he got there in 2020 for a pre-season game, he raised eyebrows as he carried a burning sage with him.
He said later that it was meant to cleanse the energy in the arena and then talked about racism in Boston. He hoped there would be "no belligerence or any racism going on, subtle racism, and people yelling s--t from the crowd."
People sometimes get mad when others point out they are racist.
2021 - Stomping of the logo
Some fans elevated their hate of Irving with someone throwing a drink at him during a first-round series against the Celtics.
Irving did not address the throwing incident, but after their road victory, he was seen scuffing his foot on the leprechaun logo, something that even Kevin Garnett thought was crossing some lines.
2022 - Irving referred to Celts fans as ex-GF
The animosity between the two sides continued as he heard "Kyrie sucks" during the Nets' visit to TD Garden during the 2022 season.
He thought these fans just couldn't move on from him, and their former love turned into hate.
"I know it's going to be like that the rest of my career coming in here. It's like the scorned girlfriend who wants an explanation on why I left, but still hoping for a text back," Irving said.
"I'm just like, it was fun while it lasted."
2022 - Middle finger
Boston and Irving's Nets met again in the 2022 playoffs. The Celtics swept the Nets in that series, but Irving's gesture made headlines.
He was caught flipping the bird towards some fans and was unapologetic about it.
"We're the ones expected to be docile and be humble, take a humble approach. [Expletive] that, it's the playoffs. This is what it is."
2023 onwards
Ever since the former joined Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, things went silent between Irving and the Celtics.
The hate will be revived once their NBA Finals start on Thursday.
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