When the ballot for the 2022 NBA All-Star game is released, multiple sources have confirmed to The Post that Kyrie Irving is expected to be on it.
That leaves open the possibility that the Nets star could make his first, last and only appearance of the season in the All-Star Game. It’s unlikely and seems crazy, which pretty much makes it par for the course with the way Irving’s year has gone.
When the NBA updated its All-Star voting process, all players on the rosters were put on the ballot. Both league and team sources indicated that because Irving is still on the Nets’ official roster — sent home but not suspended — he won’t be an exception, despite not having played a second for the Nets this season.
“We came into the season, we spent almost two weeks with a different team. We lose Kyrie, now it’s a totally different situation,” head coach Steve Nash said. “We’re just trying to build a new team and trying to work at it with this group. It’s a big hole and everyone’s got to step up a level and a notch in minutes and responsibility.”
The league isn’t currently expected to take any unprecedented action to stave off that possibility, though these are nearly unprecedented circumstances.
If Irving does get voted on, one would have to go all the way back to 1992 to find a situation even vaguely similar. Magic Johnson was forced to retire due to HIV, but got voted into the All-Star game and had 25 points and nine assists to earn MVP honors.
Irving’s case is a little different, but every bit as unique
The 29-year-old has been point guard non grata due to his refusal to get a COVID-19 vaccine. New York City mandates bar him from playing at Barclays Center or the Garden until he relents. That seems unlikely to happen anytime soon.
The Nets have shelved Irving and told him he can return when he’s “a full participant” — either by getting vaccinated or the city lifting its mandates.
Neither appears imminent. Irving does not seem ready to change his mind, and mayor-elect Eric Adams said Friday night the mandate won’t be rescinded either.
“New York City’s not going to change their rule,” Adams said on CNN. “Again, it’s up to the NBA and Kyrie Irving to come to a full understanding on how to keep him on the Nets and continue to look at all of our athletes that are coming here. And again, I think the NBA and Kyrie [are] going to come to a conclusion on this.
“I’m a Nets fan … and I love Kyrie. I think he’s a piece we need for a championship. [But] this is something that the NBA has made an agreement. If they’re going to perform in the city this is an agreement they made. I believe that it’s up to the NBA and Kyrie to come to an understanding of how they’re going to get through this. And I believe they can come to a resolution.”
The 71st NBA All-Star Game will take place Feb. 20 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, so it’ll be beyond the purview of the Nets or New York City.
Cleveland currently has no vaccine mandates, thus Irving would be free to play. That is, if he opted in and got voted in.
The league’s current process calls for the fans to constitute 50 percent of the All-Star vote, while the other half will be split evenly between the media and players. Though Irving hasn’t played yet this season, he not only maintains a huge preexisting fan base, but has also become the darling of both the far-right and anti-vaccine movements.
Irving has more than 4.3 million followers on Twitter, and a staggering 15.5 million on Instagram.
On Oct. 13 — the day after the Nets announced they were shelving Irving until he was fully eligible — he went on Instagram Live and broke his silence on his reasons for refusing the vaccine. Despite speaking after 11 p.m. on a weeknight, his meandering, oft muted, 20-minute session drew 108,000 viewers at its peak.
Since the start of training camp — when Irving’s vaccination stance became apparent — he has drawn praise from those on the far right, such as Donald Trump Jr. and Sen. Ted Cruz. Protesters who chanted his name and held signs reading “Stand With Kyrie” marched to Barclays Center before the Oct. 24 game versus the Hornets. Some even stormed past barricades set up outside the arena.
It’s uncertain how many of those might vote for Irving as a statement. What is certain is that they’ll have a chance, with him on the ballot.