Forget, for a moment, what you might think of Kyrie Irving, the emerging face of a faction of NBA players expressing anxieties over the return of the season. Instead, take Friday night’s Zoom conference call, featuring over 80 players, for what it was: not a last-second buzzer-beating attempt, but a reasonably timed airing of legitimate grievances that included players and their representatives from the National Basketball Players Association.
Irving’s personal opinion, likely informed by his multi-million dollar salary and an injury that will keep him out of play in the event that the season resumes, likely differs from many of the players on the call.