NBA star Kyrie Irving takes anti COVID-19 vaccination stance amid Novak Djokovic’s US Open win

Kyrie Irving continues to oppose the COVID-19 vaccination. The NBA player refused to take the jab in 2021 and recently used tennis superstar Novak Djokovic’s US Open triumph as a way to throw shade at the whole vaccination program.

He jumped on Instagram to re-post two messages on social media (Via Tommy Beer):

“Unvaccinated Novak Djokovic won the US Open! He won and we will too!" he wrote.

In 2022, Djokovic was detained in Australia and eventually had his visa canceled due to his unvaccinated status. As a result, he could not defend his Australian Open Grand Slam title.

A few months later, Djokovic was also denied from participating in the 2022 US Open, again, due to his failure to take the vaccine.

This year, “The Joker” is back in full throttle and making up for lost time. He reached the finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments, losing just one, at Wimbledon, to rising star Carlos Alcaraz.

While Novak Djokovic has had a successful run despite being unvaccinated, Kyrie Irving hasn’t been on that level. When he returned to play for the Brooklyn Nets just in time for the playoffs, his team was swept by the Boston Celtics.

After a disappointing stint in Brooklyn, he demanded a trade. The Dallas Mavericks took a risk on him before the February trade deadline. After Irving’s arrival, the Mavericks dropped from fourth in the West to 10th and eventually missed the playoffs.

The Mavs have since retooled around Irving and Luka Doncic as they look to make a playoff push next season.

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The Dallas Mavericks are raring to prove the Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic partnership will work

The Dallas Mavericks had a disastrous ending to the 2022-23 season. From holding the fourth spot in the Western Conference, they dropped to 10th and didn’t even make the play-in tournament.

The Mavs’ fall from one of the best teams to a struggling unit in the West did not surprise many. Kyrie Irving’s fit with the team was viewed by most as challenging at best.

While the offense was top-notch, Dallas' defense turned from middling to one of the worst in the league. Doncic bemoaned later in the season that they could not stop anybody.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban addressed the issue by acquiring stronger defenders. Grant Williams, Richaun Holmes, and rookies Dereck Lively II and Olivier-Maxence Prosper are expected to help them on that end.

If Dallas’ offense returns to form and their defense holds up, they could have another deep postseason run behind Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic.