Kevin Love on Kyrie Irving, Cavs Jersey Retirements

The Cleveland Cavaliers were the latest team to be overrun by the red-hot Brooklyn Nets. The Cavaliers hosted them at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse at NBA Day on Monday and lost 125-117. They trailed a whopping 19 points in the game as Brooklyn took control early and never relinquished it.

One of the standouts from the game was former Cavalier, Kyrie Irving. Irving scored 32 points and shot 11-of-19 from general field, 7-of-11 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 from the charity streak. He also brought down four rebounds and dished out five assists.

It was the kind of performance Cavaliers big man Kevin Love was used to seeing when the two were teammates. They helped LeBron James bring a championship to town in 2016 as they defeated the Golden State Warriors, overcoming a 3-1 deficit to mount an unlikely comeback.

Irving was stellar during that stretch, averaging 27.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals in 39 minutes per game during that streak. That performance is part of the reason Love believes Irving should have his jersey retired by the franchise at some point once his playing career is over.

“Without a doubt. Absolutely. Right after his career ends,” Love shared cleveland.com when asked after Monday night’s game. “It’s not even a question for me. He must be up there. He made the biggest shot in franchise history and one of the most important shots in Finals history when you consider how it all went down – what it meant for the city, what it meant for his legacy, LeBron’s legacy and everything else, including that Golden State team that became a dynasty and was historically great.”

LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love & Cleveland Cavaliers Updates

Had Irving not played as well as he did, the Warriors would have completed the best season in NBA history as they went 73–9 during the regular season, beating the previous record set by the 1995–96 Chicago Bulls. Coincidentally, Steve Kerr was a point guard on that Bulls team and the head coach of the Warriors.

Unfortunately, the Bulls accomplished what the Warriors couldn’t when they won the championship. As the saying goes, it means nothing without the ring. Irving and the Cavaliers got that ring in what was one of the most memorable NBA Finals in NBA history.

LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love & Cleveland Cavaliers Updates

Irving’s tenure with the Cavaliers was rather short-lived, as he spent the first six seasons of his career with the team. Although it ended in a bad way, time heals all wounds and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if at some point Irving and the franchise reconcile and his jersey is raised to the rafters along with James who will definitely keep his jersey there canceled shortly after his career ends.