National Basketball Association

Kyrie Irving says his injury kept Nets from winning championship in 2021

Updated Apr. 25, 2023 5:30 p.m. ET

Injuries are inevitable in sports, and NBA fans are seeing the injury bug rear its ugly head in several playoff series.

Some of the game's brightest stars have gone down with physical setbacks, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Ja Morant, De'Aaron Fox and Tyler Herro. The aftereffects of these ailments are significant, as teams like Milwaukee and Memphis have fallen behind 3-1 in series many believed they would prevail in.

Kyrie Irving understands the reality of postseason injuries all too well. He's had several bad breaks around this time of year in seasons past, including a broken kneecap in 2015, and an unsightly ankle injury vs. Milwaukee in 2021.

Irving recently spoke out about the latter, which came during Game 4 of Brooklyn's Eastern Conference Semifinals series with the Bucks. Brooklyn had a 2-1 lead in the matchup after handily beating Milwaukee in the first two games, but Irving was sidelined in the second quarter of the tilt after stepping on Antetokounmpo's foot.

The awkward landing resulted in sprained ankle, and left Irving unable to suit up for the remainder of the series. The Bucks would go on to win in a seven-game thriller, before capturing their first title in 50 seasons.

But in Irving's mind, the Nets would've taken their place atop the league's throne had he been able to remain healthy.

"[It was] one of the most disappointing and painful moments of my career," Irving recounted on Twitter. "If I don't get hurt that series, every single one of us on that Brooklyn team/bandwagon would be Champions. No f---ing doubt about it."

The Nets, who were without James Harden for multiple games, gave Milwaukee all it could handle behind Kevin Durant's heroics, which included leading his team in scoring each game and a 49-point, 17-rebound triple-double in Game 5. And Nets fans won't soon forget his Size 17 sneakers just grazing the 3-point line on an incredible shot that would've won the game for Brooklyn in Game 7.

It was certainly the best Nets troupe Irving was a part of, but would they have been able to scale the mountaintop into immortality? In Irving's mind, that answer is crystal clear.