10 under-the-radar facts about Birthday Boy Kyrie Irving

#4 Irving could have played for Australia in the 2012 Olympics

Basketball - Olympics: Day 9

Irving was born in Australia and holds dual citizenship for both the USA and Australia. At one point (some months before the 2012 Olympics), he was aggressively wooed by Brett Brown, who had coached his father during Drederick's time with the Bulleen Boomers. Irving made the following statements before the London Olympics:

It was a great opportunity and 2016 is a while away, that’s all I’m going to say. It would have been great to go play with guys like Andrew (Bogut), if he was healthy, and Patty (Mills) in London. I’d like to be part of the culture here, do something special for Australian basketball.

Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski stepped in and convinced Irving that he could be the starting point guard for the United States basketball team in the future. Irving did start most games for Team USA later on in the 2014 FIBA World Championship and the 2016 Olympics and won the gold medal on both occasions.