Kevin Love believes the Cavaliers should retire Kyrie Irving’s jersey

Following the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 125-117 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday, Kevin Love was asked whether the Cavs should consider retiring Kyrie Irving’s jersey. In the 2011 NBA Draft, Irving was the No. 1 overall pick. He played his first six seasons of his career with Cleveland.

“Without a doubt. Absolutely. Right away, after his career ends,” Love said after the loss. “It’s not even a question to me. He needs to be up there. He made the biggest shot in franchise history and one of the most important shots in Finals history when you consider how it all went down — what it meant for the city, what it meant for his legacy, LeBron’s legacy and everything else, including that Golden State team that became a dynasty and was historically great.”

Per multiple NBA betting sites, Kevin Love and the Cavaliers have the ninth-best odds to win the championship in 2023. Check out which sportsbooks show greater odds for the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, and Nets.

#Cavs Kevin Love has seen it all with Kyrie Irving. The highs. The lows. The good. The bad. Even though Irving’s Cleveland tenure came to an unceremonious end, Love believes Irving’s jersey should be retired and doesn’t understand the boos. https://t.co/B1sRJAj9rr

— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) December 27, 2022

“I don’t really understand the boos,” Kevin Love added. “And I can understand it from I guess if someone wants to take it from a political standpoint or a religious standpoint. I don’t know.

“But I think in terms of Kyrie, the basketball player, and what he meant for the organization, for Cleveland, for Ohio, I think he should get a great applause every time he comes. I think enough time has passed that we should love him up for what he meant to this organization.”

Kevin Love says the Cavaliers should consider retiring Kyrie Irving’s jersey

Through 381 starts with the Cavaliers, Irving averaged 21.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. He also shot 45.7% from the floor and 38.3% from 3-point range.

During the 2017 NBA Finals, the guard averaged a playoff series career-high 29.4 points per contest. Along with logging 4.0 boards and 4.4 assists per game, Irving shot 47.2% from the field and 41.9% beyond the arc against Golden State.

At least Irving has one former teammate’s approval in Kevin Love.

ON THIS DATE, 11 YEARS AGO:

7-time All-Star Kyrie Irving made his NBA debut for the Cavaliers pic.twitter.com/8OQougtLwS

— Cavs Nation (@CavsNationCP) December 26, 2022

Furthermore, in the 2014-15 season, Irving ranked ninth in points (1,628), 20th in assists (389), 20th in steals (114), eighth in 3-point percentage, 11th in field goals (578), and 12th in 3-point field goals (157).

Despite occasions of controversy off the court, according to Basketball Reference, the Nets guard has a Hall of Fame probability of 83.7%. Not to mention, the three-time All-NBA member helped LeBron James win his only championship with the Cavaliers in 2016.

Of course, the Cavs came back from a 3-1 series deficit to win it all on the Warriors’ home court in Game 7. However, a case can be made that Irving still could have accomplished more with Cleveland. He won Rookie of the Year in 2012 and the All-Star Game MVP in 2014. So, it all depends on the criteria.