Rookie guard Collin Sexton will be wearing Kyrie Irving’s old No. 2 when he suits up for the Cavaliers, but Irving said Sexton’s decision to take the number “doesn’t matter.”
“He wanted to wear the number, let him wear the number,” Irving said to ESPN on Monday.
Irving wore the No. 2 with Cleveland from 2011-17. He made four All-Star teams during his time with the Cavaliers and helped the team win an NBA title in 2015-16. But Irving reportedly wanted a bigger offensive role and forced a trade to the Celtics in August.
The Cavaliers advanced to their fourth straight NBA Finals, where they were swept by the Warriors, and then selected Sexton with the eighth overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
"The story is probably going to be the number, but I'm more excited about who (Sexton) is as a player in the league," Irving said to ESPN. "The number thing is like, just chalk that up to the game. It's cool. It's no hard feelings from my end. He just has to start at the chopping block just like everyone else did. So, I'm excited for him."
Irving was an All-Star during his first season with the Celtics, averaging 24.4 points and 5.1 assists over 60 games. But he injured his knee in March and missed the playoffs. The 26-year-old guard wears No. 11 in Boston.
The Celtics finished 2017-18 with a 55-27 record. They advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, where they fell to the Cavaliers in seven games.
