Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving has been through a lot during his tenure with the team thus far. He has been through injuries, controversies, and has even had his future debated during this past offseason.
He has even acknowledged in various interviews over the years how much pressure he has been under since he was drafted. From the moment that he has stepped into the NBA, Irving has had high expectations and has met them.
After Saturday’s 123-106 win over the Charlotte Hornets, in which Irving had 28 points, the Nets were expected to win in a convincing fashion and they did just that thanks to Irving. He mentioned during his postgame press conference that head coach Jacque Vaughn has changed the culture around the Nets.
Irving gave quite the response to how important Vaughn has been to keeping the team focused and lessening the pressure at the same time:
“He gives you an ease when you come into the locker room. Nothing’s forced. He’s not too high or too low. He’s just holding himself to a high standard and exemplifying what a leader should look like. So, as our head coach, our leader, I’ve been able to learn some things from him and that’s just being able to have relationships with everybody and being able to get the best out of everybody.”
The Nets’ next game is Monday against the San Antonio Spurs.
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Player grades: Kyrie Irving nets 28 points in wire-to-wire 123-106 win over the Hornets
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NBA Twitter reacts to Nets’ dominating 123-106 win over the Hornets
Story originally appeared on Nets Wire