Boston sports fans have a long memory.
During Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night at TD Garden fans booed and jeered Mavericks star — and former Celtics guard — Kyrie Irving.
After two seasons in Boston, Irving not only left the Celtics for the Nets, but he also came back to Beantown during the 2022 playoffs and had some contentious moments with the fans, flipping them off during Game 1 of a first-round series, something he was fined $50,000 for.
Whether it was leaving the team or giving the Boston natives the middle finger, fans — before and during —- Game 1, the fans seemed to show a lot of vitriol toward the eight-time All-Star.
Before the proceedings kicked off, fans on Causeway Street outside the arena carried a blowup doll with Irving’s face on it and chanted: “F–k Kyrie.”
It echoed the chants Celtics fans had for him after Boston rolled past the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
When the Mavericks were introduced before the start of the game, fans booed loudly when Irving’s name was called out.
Irving, however, said it wasn’t something that bothered him.
“Being in this environment, I’m used to it at this point,” Irving told reporters after the game. “Over the past few years in the playoffs here, regular season, it’s been the same thing. I thought I was going to be a little louder in here. But I’m expecting the same things. Going to Game 2, crowd trying to get me out of my element.”
After things finally tipped off, fans continued to chant toward Irving, saying “Kyrie sucks.”
It was a rough night for Irving, who scored just 12 points, and the Mavericks who suffered a 107-89 blowout loss to the Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
He shot just 6-for-19 from the field in the loss.
“It’s not the booing. It’s not the missed shots. It’s more or less just our attitude and how we approach it,” Irving said Thursday. “I haven’t had the best games offensively this playoff run.
“Now it’s our turn to go through it together. And that’s what makes it exciting.”
Irving, for his part, said before the series started that his middle finger gesture in 2022 was not his finest moment and that he’s only grown as a person since then.
“When we played in the playoffs and everyone saw me flip off the birds, and kind of lose my s–t a little bit, that wasn’t a great reflection of who I am and how I like to compete on a high level,” Irving said.
“It wasn’t a great reflection on my end toward the next generation on what it means to control your emotions in that type of environment no matter what people are yelling at you. I’m built for these moments to be able to handle circumstances like that and I’ve been able to grow since then.”
