Kevin Durant on Kyrie Irving Burning Sage: That's His Thing...We All Respect Him

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving was seen burning sage prior to his team's preseason matchup against the Boston Celtics on Friday at TD Garden, and teammate Kevin Durant said his point guard was just doing "his thing."

"That's his thing," Durant told ESPN. "... That's his thing, and we all respect him."

After the game, Kyrie explained why he was burning the sage: "It just comes from, you know, a lot of native tribes, being able to sage, just cleanse the energy, you know, make sure that we're all balanced."

In August 2018, Kyrie and his sister, Asia, were welcomed into the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. Kyrie received the Lakota name Hela, meaning Little Mountain, while Asia was given the name Tatanka Winyan, meaning Buffalo Woman. Their mother, Elizabeth Larson, was born into the Standing Rock Sioux before she was adopted.

Friday marked the last preseason affair for the Nets, and Irving went off for 17 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals in 28 minutes as the Nets won 113-89. Brooklyn starts the 2020-21 campaign Tuesday at home against the Golden State Warriors.