KYRIE Irving may be as American as Thanksgiving and fried food but he’ll always be known as ‘Aussie Kyrie’ Down Under.
Irving was born and raised in the Melbourne suburb of Kew before moving to America with his family when he was two.
The brilliantly gifted point guard was in contention to represent Australia at the 2012 London Olympics, but he opted to focus on selection for the USA.
Despite this decision, Australia’s love for Irving hasn’t wavered.
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In fact, since leaving Cleveland to join Boston this season the public’s admiration for the star shot maker has intensified.
Irving has been standout performer for the Celtics with his silky skills and freakish ability to find the basket.
The five-time All-Star regularly leads the stats sheet, while he possesses a remarkable ability to deliver matchwinning plays under pressure.
Boston will need all of Irving’s brilliance to go deep in the post-season.
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The Celtics are guaranteed a playoff berth, but they face a tough task to progress through to the NBA Finals.
Boston is also battling a cast of injuries, with Marcus Smart (broken thumb) and Daniel Theis (knee) out for six weeks and the season respectively.
Fellow Eastern Conference rivals Washington, Toronto and Cleveland — led by three-time champion LeBron James — will all give the Celtics stern tests.
But with Irving working his magic, anything is possible for Celtics.
Boston’s Australian star Aron Baynes has no doubts “Aussie Kyrie” can inspire the men in green to big things in the playoffs with his majestic moves.
“Kyrie is such a great player,” Baynes enthused.
“He commands so much of the other team’s defence and he makes everyone else’s job that much easier because he can create a lot of space for guys.
“You just do everything you can to put him in the best possible position.
“For me, I’m just trying to set screens for him and get out of the way to give him space.
“He is a phenomenal player and it’s fun to be on his team and see what he does on a nightly basis.”
