Kyrie Irving was back on NBA hardwood Wednesday night, performing familiar feats of basketball sorcery, and it was frankly a joy to behold.
Anyone who loves the game had to delight in seeing Kyrie do Kyrie things again—the mesmerizing footwork, the bullet passes, the breezy jumpers—in his extremely belated debut for the Nets. You don’t have to be a Nets loyalist—nor a fan of Irving’s loopy philosophical ramblings and his maddening anti-vaccination stance—to appreciate the grandeur of his game. His talent spoke for itself as Irving put up 22 points in a 129-121 victory in Indiana.