Kyrie Irving Honored by Cavs with Tribute Video in Return to Cleveland with Nets

Adam Hunger/Associated Press

Over three years after Kyrie Irving left the Cleveland Cavaliers, the franchise is finally honoring the man it made the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft and who helped deliver its only championship.

With the Brooklyn Nets in town, the Cavs played a tribute video to Irving during the first quarter, thanking him for his six seasons in Cleveland and officially welcoming him back to the city.

Irving has played in Cleveland as a member of the Boston Celtics since being traded away, but the 28-year-old did not receive the type of welcome the Cavs gave him Wednesday. The game also marked Irving’s return to the lineup after a seven-game hiatus and his first appearance alongside James Harden and Kevin Durant in the starting lineup.

After requesting a trade from Cleveland in the summer of 2017, Irving and the Cavs have finally reconciled.