Living NBA legend Bob Cousy recently shared his thoughts on the Boston Celtics, saying that he wants to see his former team raise banner No. 18, while he’s still around.
“I’m 95 [expletive] years old with one foot in the grave and I can barely move,” Cousy said, per Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe (h/t Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report).
“I know I’m in overtime. So everything in your life becomes more meaningful. And one of the last things I want to be able to see is for the Celtics to hang up banner No. 18.”
Boston Celtics legend Bob Cousy shares thoughts on Kyrie Irving
The 95-year-old Cousy, who won six NBA titles with the Celtics and was the 1957 NBA Most Valuable Player, also mentioned how the Celtics have limited the impact of Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving in the 2024 NBA Finals. In Cousy’s eyes, Irving is no longer playing at a superstar level, which he believes is being highlighted by Boston’s stout defense.
“The Celtics have exposed Kyrie Irving as not quite a superstar,” said Cousy. “He has been severely subdued. They’re not even trapping him a lot. They’re doing it one-on-one. Kyrie’s working his ass off and they’re still stopping most of his stuff. He’s no longer in the superstar category. You’ve got to function in the playoffs to determine where you are in the hierarchy.”
For what it’s worth, Irving just exploded for 35 points in Game 3 of the finals, albeit in a 106-99 Mavericks loss. It has been a struggle mostly for Irving in the Celtics series, but Dallas will continue to rely on him heavily on offense on Friday when the Mavs aim to score a win to extend the series for a fifth game.
Through three games in the finals, Irving has averaged 21.0 points on just 40.0 percent shooting from the field and 28.6 percent shooting from behind the arc.
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