A year ago after suffering a fractured kneecap in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Kyrie Irving retreated into his bubble.
The then-23-year-old appreciated the “open dialogue” and support from his Cavaliers teammates, including a FaceTime session with Iman Shumpert while Shumpert was in the locker room dealing with an injury in Game 3. But even with their texts and calls and contact on social media, Irving admitted he didn’t ask for their advice.
Instead, he chose his own path.
“For things like that you’ve kind of got to figure it out on your own,” Irving said during a private conversation Friday morning at Air Canada Centre.