Kyrie Irving 'Proud' of Celtics, Says He's 'In a Great Place' with Knee Injury

Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving appeared on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt on Wednesday night and discussed a number of topics, including where he is at with his knee injury and how proud he is of his team.

Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com passed along some of the five-time All-Star's notable quotes:

Irving hasn't appeared in a game since a March 11 loss to the Indiana Pacers. The point guard originally underwent knee surgery on March 24, and the Celtics announced on April 5 he needed another surgery "to remove two screws implanted in his patella from an injury suffered during the 2015 NBA Finals," which would sideline him for the next few months.

It was a difficult blow for a Celtics team that was already without injured swingman Gordon Hayward. Irving served as Boston's primary option on offense during the regular season, averaging 24.4 points and 5.1 assists per game while shooting 40.8 percent from three-point range.

He has plenty to be proud of when it comes to his teammates, as Boston holds a 1-0 lead in its second-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers and already dispatched of the Milwaukee Bucks in a grueling seven-game battle.

The Celtics were without Irving, Hayward and Daniel Theis for the entirety of the first round, and Marcus Smart missed the first four contests. What's more, Jaylen Brown didn't play in the first game against the 76ers because of a hamstring injury.

Despite all of those setbacks, the Celtics are three victories away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they would either play the Toronto Raptors or Irving's old team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While Irving would assuredly love to be on the floor helping his team pursue a championship, he offered a number of encouraging messages on SportsCenter as his teammates continue to battle through attrition.