Nets' Kyrie Irving Says Celtics Fans Booing Him 'Like a Scorned Girlfriend'

Celtics fans are still bitter about Kyrie Irving's departure from Boston after the 2018-19 season, but the Brooklyn Nets star appears unfazed by the boos that reign down from the TD Garden crowd whenever he returns to the city. 

"I know it's going to be like that for the rest of my career, coming in here," Irving told reporters following a 126-120 loss to the Celtics on Sunday. "It's like the scorned girlfriend—just wants an explanation on why I left but still hoping for a text back. I'm just like, 'It's fun while it lasted.'"

Green Teamers boo Irving with every chance they get. While he struggled for much of Sunday's game, he still finished with 19 points, four rebounds and six assists. His late fourth-quarter scoring outburst was too late for the Nets, who were unable to overcome a 54-point performance from Jayson Tatum.

Celtics fans have beef with Irving specifically because he told a packed TD Garden crowd that he planned to re-sign with the franchise after the 2018-19 campaign. Months later in the season, he backpedaled on his commitment to the franchise, saying he was going to do what was best for his career. 

Irving then signed with the Nets to team up with Kevin Durant ahead of the 2019-20 season, and the rest is history, as they say. 

Joining the Nets hasn't necessarily paid off for Irving yet. The franchise has failed to reach the Eastern Conference Finals with him on board, and it's even struggling this season. Brooklyn dropped to 32-33 on the season with Sunday's loss and appears to be headed for a spot in the play-in round. 

In addition, Irving has been heavily limited this season because he remains unvaccinated against COVID-19 and is unable to play in Brooklyn's home games because of the city's workplace vaccine mandate.

When he is on the court, though, Irving has played well. Entering Sunday's game, he was averaging 25.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 45.9 percent from the floor and 36.6 percent from deep.

If Irving can eventually become a full-time player for the Nets, they'll certainly be a difficult out in the playoffs, regardless if they have to compete in a play-in game first.