The 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers sauntered through the United Kingdom as they celebrated the 10th anniversary of their NBA championship victory. Down 3-1 versus the 73-win Golden State Warriors, Ohio native LeBron James and the rest of this resilient team delivered the long-suffering sports city one of the most celebrated titles in league history. Perhaps it is only fitting that such a monumental feat is recognized via a grand reunion trip. Not everyone opted to go across the pond, however.
Kyrie Irving was the player most notably absent from the European shenanigans. Fans sought an explanation, and former Sixth Man of the Year JR Smith revealed that the star point guard was invited but ghosted the group. Irving later paid homage to the 2016 championship run with an Instagram post and also reached out, according to Smith.
The three-time All-NBA selection visited a basketball camp earlier in the week, but it is surprising that he apparently did not respond to his former teammates’ invitation. Apart from Irving, most of the core members of that immortalized Cavs squad participated in the festivities. James, Kevin Love, Smith, Richard Jefferson, Tristan Thompson, Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert and Matthew Dellavedova played golf and reminisced about the good old days.
Although Irving was the most conspicuous no-show, some of the others who did not make the trip include current NBA executive vice president, head of basketball operations James Jones, retired center Timofey Mozgov, Kentucky assistant coach and 2009 All-Star Mo Williams, Los Angeles Clippers assistant Dahntay Jones and Jordan McRae, who has continued to play professional basketball internationally.
LeBron James deservedly won 2016 Finals MVP honors, but Kyrie Irving enjoyed one of the most impressive Game 7 performances in modern NBA history. He knocked down what was ultimately the title-clinching, go-ahead 3-pointer over Stephen Curry with less than a minute remaining on the clock. Although a messy breakup ensued about a year later, no one can diminish his importance to that landmark season.
Maybe he will be able to catch the Cavs’ 20th-year reunion.
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