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Charles Barkley’s Dislike for Kyrie Irving Exposed in Video: “He Makes Kevin Love Look Like Dennis Rodman”

Published 01/02/2022, 9:30 AM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is finally back with the Nets and could make his season debut soon. However, his exact date of return to action is yet to be confirmed. But the fact that he will play for the Nets this season is a big positive for him.

Irving returned to practice earlier this week on Wednesday, out from NBA’s health and safety protocols. However, the last few months have been hard for him as he has received backlash for his decisions off the court. Charles Barkley has also criticized the 29-year-old for the same previously. But Barkley has criticized him on several occasions since his Cleveland Cavaliers days.

USA Today via Reuters

Kyrie reportedly requested a trade at the Cavaliers, as he wanted to be the focal point of his team. However, that wasn’t possible with LeBron James on the team. A video compilation of Barkley criticizing Kyrie has emerged on YouTube, exposing his dislike for the latter.

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Charles Barkley’s criticism compilation of Kyrie Irving exposes his dislike for the Nets guard

A video of Barkley criticizing Kyrie has surfaced on YouTube. The video shows several instances of Barkley roasting Kyrie live on TV. Following are some of Barkley’s comments from the same.

“Kyrie Irving is not a great defender. He makes Kevin Love look like Dennis Rodman,” Barkley said during the 2016 NBA Finals.

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“Yeah, that was a kind of stunner because he hasn’t shown any leadership abilities in the NBA,” Barkley replied when asked if Kyrie being voted as Vice President of Players Association made sense.

“Kyrie Irving, I don’t know him that well. He seems like a good kid. But I’ve never seen a person so miserable. He’s going to make 40-50 million dollars a year for the next 10-15 years. He’s already won a world championship, he’s in movies but he’s got to be one of the most miserable people I’ve ever seen,” Barkley said in 2019.

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There are several other instances of Barkley‘s criticism of Kyrie in the above video. Kyrie was one of the best players in the NBA at the Cavaliers. Alongside LeBron James, Kyrie formed an elite duo that dominated the NBA for a few years. In fact, the 2016 championship win with the Cavs is the only championship Kyrie has ever won.

Kyrie demanded a trade as he wanted to be the focal point of the team wherever he plays. That led to the Cavs trading him to the Celtics in 2017.

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After a long time, Kyrie is close to the action this season. He even admitted that he missed it and is grateful for the opportunity.

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Written by:

Abhishek Singh

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Abhishek is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports with over two years of journalistic experience with Chase Your Sport and Dribl. A Football Management graduate, he has previously interned in the Indian Super League, I-League and the AFC Champions League. In addition to being a Michael Jordan fan, Abhishek is an ardent Steph Curry and Warriors guy, and believes they have a few more championships in store before the former retires.
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