Kyrie Irving played in his first game of the season on Wednesday, scoring 22 points in a 129-121 win for the Nets in Indiana. We won’t see Irving back on the court until January 10 because Brooklyn’s next two games are at home and Irving still cannot play in home games as he continues to refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine and does not meet New York City’s mandate.
After the game, Irving, who recently said he knew the potential consequences of his actions but at the same time wasn’t prepared for them, was asked if he’s changed his stance and may get the vaccine soon to be able to play in all games. As was the case when he spoke at length about his decision not to get the vaccine in the first place, Irving said an awful lot of words — including some weird sports cliches that don’t make a lot of sense in this situation — to effectively just say “no.”
Kyrie Irving was asked whether his stance on getting the vaccine has changed. Below is his full answer. pic.twitter.com/t05Dp8H5Su
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) January 6, 2022
I honestly do not know what “I’m just taking it one day at a time” means regarding a vaccine, but that’s what Kyrie is going to be doing. He talks about hoping for a “collective agreement” with the league, but the NBA isn’t the issue here, as it’s a city mandate that’s keeping him out rather than an NBA rule. As for the “However it looks later in the season, we’ll address it then” part, that is almost certainly Irving knowing that while it’s one thing for him to play in only road games during the regular season, that’s not a very tenable situation come playoff time — particularly for a Nets team that will likely have homecourt advantage for two rounds, if not through the NBA Finals should they make it there.
In total, nothing has changed with Kyrie.