Irving played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils before joining the Cavaliers in After another Finals appearance in , Irving requested a trade and was dealt to the Boston Celtics. He played as a Celtic for two seasons, after which he signed with the Brooklyn Nets as a free agent in In , he starred in the film Uncle Drew.
Irving grew up in West Orange, New Jersey , where he frequently attended his father's adult-league games. In fifth grade, he was offered a scholarship to Boston University by then-head coach Dennis Wolff. Irving played for Montclair Kimberley Academy in his freshman and sophomore years in high school. He averaged Patrick High School because he felt he needed a bigger challenge. Patrick's season due to the transfer. Patrick, Irving played with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist , who was widely regarded as one of the best players in the class of He was the MVP with Patrick was banned from the state tournament for holding practice prior to the permitted start of the winter sports season.
Patrick went 24—3 and won the Union County Tournament championship as he finished his senior year with Through the first eight games of the season, he averaged Irving was a strong contender for NCAA Freshman of the Year until he suffered a severe ligament injury in his right big toe during the ninth game of the season.
Irving scored 28 points in what turned out to be his last game for Duke. Irving announced that he would forgo his final three seasons of eligibility and enter the NBA draft , where he was selected with the first overall pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Irving scored 34 points in the game, going 8-of-8 from three-point range, and earned MVP honors. At a Las Vegas Cavaliers practice on July 14, , Irving sustained a broken right hand after reportedly slapping it against a padded wall after committing a turnover.
It was just crazy. It happened so fast. He played in the Cavaliers' next game, but the injury forced him to miss three weeks of action. He became the youngest player in NBA history to score 40 points in Madison Square Garden ; he was a year younger than Michael Jordan , who did it in The coaches selected Irving to play in his first All-Star game. He finished with 15 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds. He ended his second season with averages of On February 28, , Irving recorded his first career triple-double with 21 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in a 99—79 win over the Utah Jazz.
