Kyrie Irving will miss Friday’s Nets game against the Grizzlies for what Brooklyn called personal reasons and didn’t fly with the team to Memphis.
A source familiar with the situation told The Post that Irving is physically fit, but that he was upset by the attack on Washington DC’s Capitol Hill by supporters of President Donald Trump.
The association also reported Breonna Taylor’s verdict and the lack of punishment for officers who shot and killed the 26-year-old unarmed man also contributed to Irving’s decision.
But the All-Star is not AWOL and the team has been aware of why he is not playing. Irving, in essence, spent personal days.
Irving, who had Kobe Bryant as a close friend and mentor, had left the garden and did not face the Knicks on Jan. 26 after hearing the tragic death of the Lakers icon. The one-time guard was limited to just 20 games in his first Brooklyn campaign for shoulder surgery that ended the season.
Nets coach Steve Nash had stated both before and after Thursday’s win over Philadelphia that he didn’t know why Irving didn’t even play at Barclays Center. But a second source familiar with the situation claimed that the guard had not only contacted the team previously, but that the core of the information had been passed on to Nash.
Irving is the sixth in the NBA to score with 27.1 points. The Nets play Memphis on Friday at the back end and return home to host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.