Kyrie Irving will miss the Nets game on Friday against the Grizzlies for what Brooklyn called personal reasons, and did not fly the team to Memphis.
A source familiar with the situation told the Post that Irving is physically well, but was upset about the attack on the Capitol in Washington DC by supporters of President Donald Trump.
The Association also reported that Breonna Taylor’s verdict and the lack of punishment for police officers who shot and killed the 26-year-old unarmed also contributed to Irving’s decision.
But All-Star is not absent and the team knows why he is not playing. Irving, in essence, took personal days.
Irving, who had Kobe Bryant as a close friend and mentor, left Garden and did not face the Knicks on January 26 after hearing the news of the tragic death of the Lakers icon. The point guard was limited to just 20 games in his debut campaign in Brooklyn, following shoulder surgery at the end of the season.
Nets coach Steve Nash said before Thursday’s win over Philadelphia and again after he didn’t know why Irving wasn’t playing or at the Barclays Center. But a second source familiar with the situation said that the shipowner had not only contacted the team beforehand, but that the crux of the information had been passed on to Nash.
Irving is sixth in the NBA with 27.1 points. The Nets play Friday in Memphis at the end of a back-to-back, and return home to host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.