Kyrie Irving Declines to Speak to Media After Nets' Preseason Win vs. Wizards

Kyrie Irving declined to speak with reporters after scoring 18 points and dishing out four assists for the Brooklyn Nets in a 119-114 win over the Washington Wizards.

ESPN's Malika Andrews reported after the game that Irving didn't take part in any press conferences or provide a statement to the media.

This comes after the six-time All-Star gave prepared comments in lieu of talking to reporters on the Nets' media day.

That led to separate $25,000 fines for Irving and the Nets. He responded by quoting Malcolm X on Instagram and writing he "[does] not talk to Pawns."

While Irving drew criticism for appearing to belittle members of the media, The Undefeated's Martenzie Johnson wrote how NBA stars can now shape their own narrative more easily and may not feel as indebted to providing writers with any help. Along with that, Irving's antipathy isn't unwarranted to some extent:

"Players realized they didn't need the media anymore. And could you blame them? Many of us abused the relative power we had as purveyors of news. We called Durant 'Mr. Unreliable.' We turned James into a villain because he didn't want to play for Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert anymore. We called Irving every four-letter word under the sun for questioning the circumference of Earth. Trolls on the internet and fans in arenas did the same thing, but we in the media are supposed to be better than that. The line between criticism and pure meanness was long crossed."

It's unclear how long Irving intends to continue his media blackout.

While this is only the preseason, fans probably would've liked to hear from the 28-year-old after he stepped onto the court for the first time since February. The fact that he and Durant combined for 33 points in 41 minutes is encouraging as Brooklyn looks to improve upon a seventh-place finish in 2019-20.

A $25,000 fine on its own is a drop in the bucket for a player who's making $33.3 million this season. That money will begin to add up, though, if Irving remains silent into the regular season, which begins Dec. 22 for Brooklyn against the Golden State Warriors.