Kyrie Irving Says He's 'Not Beefing' with Kevin Durant, Steve Nash After Nets Comments

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving responded Tuesday to comments Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant recently made about their time together with the Brooklyn Nets.

Speaking on his Twitch channel, Irving made it clear that he has no issues with Durant or former Nets head coach Steve Nash, and he explained his feelings about what happened in Brooklyn:

"Me and KD are not beefing. I'm not beefing with Steve Nash. I'm not beefing with anybody, you guys. Alright? This is not personal against KD, and even when he tweeted back at me and he said he's going to have the noti's on, I appreciate that, you guys. I appreciate the engagement. I just want to tell KD I love him, you know what I'm saying? At that moment, I'm not sure what he was thinking, but at the same time I would never, ever broadcast anything crazy. There's so much that happened while we were in Brooklyn. There is so much spun narratives after we left Brooklyn. It wasn't perfect, but I can honestly say I took a chance on winning a championship with my best friend. We had an incredible time. I can honestly take accountability for my actions and say that I wasn't always in the best space mentally, spiritually, physically, emotionally. So, I take my accountability and I'm sorry to any of those out there that it impacted negatively.

"I came to Brooklyn thinking that we were going to have a totally different time and it went one way and it went a whole 'nother way and it got crazy. I'm not going to lie to you, but I will say this, the 7-11 duo of me and KD will never be topped in terms of just being on the court with somebody that special. So, let me get that disclaimer out … I've played with a lot of great players, but playing with KD, that was OD. He's one of the best of all time. Obviously we all have our strengths and weaknesses… I'm doing my thing. He's doing his thing. Let's leave it there."

Earlier this month, Durant appeared on the Mind the Game podcast with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and Nash, and he commented on where things went wrong in Brooklyn, telling Nash: "It felt like we were committed, but everybody else wasn't."

In 2019, Irving and Durant both hit free agency, and they decided to sign with the Nets, making Brooklyn an immediate championship contender once both players were healthy.

Durant missed his entire first season with the Nets due to a torn Achilles suffered while playing for the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals, while Irving was limited to just 20 games for the Nets in 2019-20 due to injury as well.

After that, Irving and Durant essentially played parts of three seasons together in Brooklyn, experiencing a second-round playoff exit and first-round playoff exit before they both got traded during the 2022-23 campaign.

The Nets even brought in a third star in 2020-21 in the form of James Harden, but the triumvirate didn't spend much time on the court together.

Injuries limited Irving to 54 games in 2020-21 and 29 games in 2021-22, and Durant to 35 games in 2020-21 and 55 games in 2021-22.

All told, the trio of Irving, Durant and Harden played 16 games together between the regular season and playoffs, posting a 13-3 record.

While the Nets potentially could have had something special had all three of them remained healthy at the same time, that was a rarity, and the team came nowhere near achieving what most expected.

Harden only ended up playing 80 games for the Nets over parts of two seasons before getting traded to the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2021-22 campaign. Irving and Durant followed suit the following season, getting traded to the Mavs and Phoenix Suns, respectively.

While those Nets teams will always be among the biggest "what ifs" in NBA history, Irving and Durant find themselves in much better situations with contenders in the Western Conference right now.

Kyrie stars on a veteran-laden Mavericks team along with Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson, plus the incoming No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft in Cooper Flagg.

As for Durant, he got traded to the Rockets this offseason, arguably making them the team to beat out West aside from the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

Although Kyrie and KD didn't enjoy the type of playoff success they hoped for in Brooklyn, it is very much within the realm of possibility that they could meet again in the playoffs next season, but this time on opposing sides.