Wizards Video Says John Wall Should Be an All-Star Over Kyrie Irving, LeBron James Disagrees

Kyrie Irving recently returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers lineup after missing time due to a knee injury which saw him get sidelined after game one of the NBA Finals. Irving returned to the lineup five days before Christmas and he was immediately placed on a minutes restriction by the team. He been missing the second part of back-to-backs and he didn’t play more than 30 minutes, until last night.

His first big game of the 2015-16 season came against John Wall and the Washington Wizards. Irving played a season-high 34 minutes, scored 32 points on 14-22 shooting and he also grabbed five rebounds and handed out three assists. This coming just a few weeks after Irving was the subject of criticism from fellow All-Star point guard, John Wall.

Wall said that Irving didn’t deserve to be one of the top vote getters for the 2016 NBA All-Star game and Wall said Irving being at the top was a ‘joke’. It appears that the Washington Wizards organization agreed but Kyrie made them pay for their words and their new video.

Following from Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com.

The two have since talked it out and peace was made. They both wanted to move on from the situation. But other people within the Wizards’ organization weren’t ready to let it go.

In the second quarter during a timeout, the Wizards’ in-game entertainment crew presented a questionable spoof that ended up biting them in the rear. It was intended to be lighthearted and humorous, but failed miserably.

On the Jumbotron it showed fans attending the game in Cavaliers apparel being asked in the concourse who belonged in the All-Star Game between Wall and Irving. Every single fan said Wall, and you could tell they were instructed to answer that way.

The bit went on long enough that it got the Cavaliers’ attention from their huddle, and they didn’t take too kindly to it.

“Nah, we didn’t like it as a team. We didn’t like it at all,” guard J.R. Smith said with a stone face.

“Yeah, I saw it for sure,” LeBron James chimed in. “I’ve been dealing with that my entire career.”

It was an awkward few minutes. After the game Wizards personnel were left scratching their heads, furious with the video. “Why would they do that?” one team employee said. “That was stupid.”

It was tacky, but most importantly it put Wall in an uncomfortable situation. Here he was thinking his comments about Irving were behind him, and his own franchise brought them back to the forefront.

And he was struggling on the court. At the half, he had two points on 1-of-9 shooting and six turnovers. Irving had 11 points on 5-of-10 from the field and one turnover. The last thing Wall needed was for Irving to have extra motivation.

When asked about how he felt with the Wizards’ bit, Irving said he didn’t take it personally, but didn’t offer much beyond that. “It is what it is,” he said. “I really have no comment. Real talk, no comment.”

“If they feel they’ve got to make a spoof to get some more votes for John Wall, it is what it is,” the Cavs’ Tristan Thompson said. “Kyrie is playing great for us. Fans are going to vote for whoever they want to see.”

That video presentation might have been the fuel that initiated Irving’s late-game fire. Irving smiled and then laughed, saying, “Nah,” when asked if the video struck a chord.

So after the game, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, who combined for 66 points on the night against Wall and the Wizards, had this to say in the postgame interview.

This isn’t the first time LeBron James has gushed about Kyrie and as expected he’s giving the returning guard some high praise.

Kyrie is one of the league’s best point guards but the best in the league? I think Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and even Kyle Lowry might have something to say about that.

Then again, any top 5 point guard list can’t be as bad as this.