Kyrie Irving on Playing for Australia: 'Coach K Wasn't Going to Let That Happen'

Mike Krzyzewski was the driving force behind Kyrie Irving's participation with Team USA internationally as opposed to playing for Australia.

The Dallas Mavericks guard opened up about how he wanted to play for Team Australia in tournaments and named his former coach when he played at Duke as a huge reason why he decided to play for Team USA instead.

"I consider myself an international player even though I played on Team USA," Irving said. "A lot of my peers laugh at me when I bring it up and some fans may not agree, but I was born in Australia. Team USA asked me to play for them when I was 17 or 18 ... I wanted to play for Australia, but it just didn't happen. Coach K wasn't going to let that happen either."

Krzyzewski also served as the coach of Team USA at the time and the duo won gold medals at the 2014 Olympics and 2016 FIBA World Cup. Irving spoke about this with Fox Sports in 2012 and offered an expanded reasoning for how Krzyzewski convinced him to suit up for the U.S. team.

"(Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski) was a huge part of the decision," Irving said. "I mean, he's Coach K. As a young fella, he definitely did tell me I had a chance to be a part of something bigger than myself and ultimately being the starting point guard on the US Olympic team. I never thought it would happen as soon as it has."

It makes significantly more sense for Irving to suit up for the U.S. as he grew up in the country and has played his entire basketball career for team's located in the U.S. His ties to Australia are that he was born in the country and lived there until he was two years old. He kept his Australian passport and was eligible to play for either team.

Irving is not on Team USA's roster for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which is set to begin Friday.