Kyrie Irving returned to Brooklyn Nets practice for the first time since the preseason and said he understood why the team decided to have him be away due to New York City's vaccine mandate.
"I understood their decision and respected it," Irving told Nets beat writers after Wednesday's practice in his first comments since Oct. 13. "I really had to sit back and think and try not to become too emotionally attached to what they were deciding to do. I had to really evaluate things and see it from their perspective, meaning the organization, my teammates.