Kyrie Irving is one of the most talented NBA stars of the modern era and will be remembered as a generation-defining point guard. However, his life hasn’t been easy.
The success Kyrie has enjoyed in the NBA is something he’s often credited to his father, Drederick Irving. Comedian Bruce Fine, who knows Drederick’s entire life story, shared the same on The Jamie Kennedy show.
Fine is from Boston but has found most of his career’s success in Los Angeles. He studied at Boston University and graduated in 1989 alongside Drederick Irving. Fine and Irving were friends and the comedian narrated Dredrick’s tumultuous life story while also highlighting how those experiences ultimately impacted the life of his son, Kyrie Irving.
“A friend of mine was on the basketball team. His name is Drederick. Highest scorer in the history of BU (Boston University) when we graduate. We graduate and only 3 NBA teams look at him. I move out to LA, I come back, Drederick walks in wearing a Hertz rent-a-car shirt and my heart dropped. That was the first time I realized that in life, sometimes things don’t work out.”
Drederick Irving was a beast at the NCAA level, playing 4 seasons of Division 1 basketball for Boston University. Outside of his freshman season, where he averaged just 6.4 points, Drederick was a star point guard during his time there. From his sophomore to senior season, Irving averaged 18.9 points and had great touch when it came to shooting 3s, shooting 43.2% on 4.5 attempts in his final season.
Irving’s failure to make it to the NBA didn’t deter him, as he would take up opportunities in Australia, as Fine narrated.
“I saw it with my friend and I was like ‘Wow’. He’s like, ‘yeah, I’m working for Hertz. I didn’t get picked up by any teams and I might go play in Australia. He goes to Australia, with the same girlfriend from BU, and he marries her. He’s playing in Australia and has a daughter and then a son. He’s just playing basketball to pay the bills and keep the dream alive. His wife isn’t feeling well and he gets a phone call that she died in the hospital. That she had a rare disease and she passed away.”
Kyrie’s mother, Elizabeth passed away when Kyrie was 4 years old. The Mavs’ star traces his Native American heritage to his mother, something he sought to reconnect with from his time with the Celtics. Fine continued telling the story of how Kyrie’s father pushed his son to become a basketball player while raising his kids as a single father.
“Through all this, he’s teaching his son basketball. His son starts playing very well and he’s like, let me move to New Jersey, New York where I can get him into programs like LeBron’s at St. John High or whatever. He gets his son into a good basketball program and he takes a job at Reuters, which is in the World Trade Center. His son started to get good at basketball and one day he walks into work at 8:57 into the building’s lobby. In 2001, when the plane hit the building. He survives. He gets out of the building and gets reunited with his children.”
Drederick Irving is among the lucky survivors of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. Kyrie was about 9 years old when this happened, so it must’ve been a very complicated thing to process at that age. This incident is one that even Drederick believes has shaped Kyrie into the person he is today. Drederick maneuvered across falling steel beams to get back to his family to ensure his children won’t be orphaned. He also remained integral in Kyrie’s journey of fulfilling Drederick’s dream of playing in the NBA, something he sought to do even harder after the horrific tragedy that was 9/11. Fine elaborated on Kyrie’s basketball journey and how his father’s reputation helped him get into the iconic Duke Blue Devils program.
“His son ends up going from high school, he starts to get interest from colleges. He goes with his son to see Coach K at Duke. They walk into the office for the meeting and on the TV is Drederick playing for BU against Duke in 1988, our senior year. We were ahead at halftime and almost pulled an upset in the tournament, but Drederick played great. His son is like, blown away that Coach K even remembers his dad. He said, ‘listen, a lot of kids are interested in coming to Duke. But if you are anything like that man I remember competing against, if your character is like his, Duke wants you. So he goes to Duke and gets hurt, but he comes back to the tournament and takes them all the way to like the Final Four. Then, he gets drafted by the NBA and he ends up living the dream his father couldn’t. My friend Drederick’s son is Kyrie Irving.”
Kyrie was a member of the 2010-11 Duke Blue Devils but managed to only play 11 games throughout the season. He averaged 17.5 points in the NCAA. Contrary to what Fine said, Duke got eliminated by Arizona before the Final Four, but Irving had shown enough talent to be the No. 1 pick in the 2011 Draft to the Cleveland Cavaliers. His father’s life experiences shaped the reality in which he was raised, and Fine capped off this story with the perfect way to explain why Kyrie seems so different from other basketball stars we know.
“So, if you want to know why Kyrie has some issues. Personally, unless you know what it’s like to lose your mother overnight then I don’t know how you can have a conversation about that.”
Crazy story. Wasn’t expecting that. Almost Kanye like pic.twitter.com/CIQPi33cNX
— Reginald Lewis Billi III, JD (@realtoddbillion) March 5, 2023
A lot of these events would be almost too much to bear for many people, but Kyrie turned these experiences into a strength. He used it as motivation to continue excelling at his craft until he was one of the best to ever do it. His father’s life took many twists and turns after he failed to make it to the league, so Kyrie ensured that not only does he make it, but he makes it as one of the most coveted players in recent history.
Kyrie Irving Has Made His Father Proud
Kyrie Irving may have been the son of a basketball player, but not one who dominated in the NBA. His father never got to achieve the most fundamental dream everyone who ever plays basketball has, which is to make it to the NBA. A very small percentage of people make that dream their reality and Kyrie has done that with flying colors.
Over the last 12 years, Drederick Irving has watched his son become an NBA Champion after hitting one of the most iconic shots in Finals history. He’s seen his son average 23.4 points and 5.7 assists over the course of his career while being recognized as arguably the greatest ball-handler the game has ever seen.
Kyrie has gone through adversity in the NBA, especially when you look at the messy exits he has had from all 3 teams he has played for. With him seemingly in a good space on the Dallas Mavericks alongside Luka Doncic, everyone will wonder whether this will bring the stability that Irving has craved his entire life. Whatever decision he does end up making, it will surely be thought out carefully, as Kyrie didn’t accidentally walk into this career as a Hall of Fame basketball career. He worked to get to this stage his entire life, under the watchful and supportive eye of his father.
