Over the years, Kyrie Irving has been outspoken about his methods. It made him a highly controversial, independent, and philosophical off-court persona. Especially during his time with the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets. And one of the former Nets recently spoke about his issue with Kai that had gained significant headlines.

Dzanan Musa, the 29th pick in the first round of the 2018 NBA draft, was with the Nets until 2020. During that time, he was 19 years old, and Kai was the locker room leader. Speaking about the former teammate, “Kyrie is a guy who lives in his own movie. You can be there, but he’s still doing his own thing, regardless of the fact that you’re teammates and supposed to play together,” Musa stated on the 6.75range podcast, and offered a different perspective on what was happening behind the scenes.

“For example, before every practice, he would burn sage. We weren’t allowed to enter the locker room until he drove away the evil spirits. I didn’t agree with it, of course, but Kyrie is Kyrie. What was I supposed to say? Tell him to leave?”

Burning sage, or “smudging,” is a Lakota ritual that is done before most ceremonies, and Kyrie Irving had previously stated why he believes in the tradition.

Irving was inducted into the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in the summer of 2018, of which his mother, Elizabeth, was a member. The ritual intends to use the “cleanest” herb to chase away the “dirt” of impure thoughts, actions, and other related issues. When Kai returned to TD Garden for the first time after being traded from the Boston Celtics, he walked onto the court with burning sage and performed a cleansing ritual.

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Irving revealed that it was done to “remove negative energy,” which sparked a strong reaction from fans. Dzanan Musa recalled the event, which he had no say in.

While Musa was not on board, Kyrie Irving received support from another teammate

“It just comes from a lot of native tribes,” Irving explained after the game, per CBS Sports. “Being able to sage, just cleanse the energy, make sure that we’re all balanced.” The 33-year-old called it his way of feeling safe and connecting with his ancestors. “I’m not going to bring too much of the spirituality into basketball, but yeah, it’s part of my native culture where I’m from.”

Kyrie Irving had his own methods and routines, and former teammate Kevin Durant stated how positively it affected the team. “That’s his thing. Kyrie probably sages his room before he plays 2K when he gets home,” Kevin Durant told ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth. “That’s just what he does. That gives us good energy. He does it in the locker room. That’s his thing, and we all respect him. We respect his method, and he comes out here and plays extremely hard for us.”

Currently, Kai is out with a torn ACL. Earlier, there were a lot of positive updates that the Mavericks star would return this season. But the 9x All-Star clarified his stance, and it’s not a good update. According to Irving himself, “[Recovery] is going well, and whenever I’m a hundred and fifty percent healthy, I’ll be back. I want to be better than I was, so that’s saying a lot. It’s a big hill to climb, but it’s worth it.”