Kyrie Irving's eye-opening move after Jayson Tatum's final prediction

Boston Celtics champion Jayson Tatum predicted an NBA Finals revenge game after defeating Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals. Tatum said this during his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this week, which sparked hype about a possible Celtics/Mavs revenge game in 2025. It may have inspired Irving as well to change his profile picture on Instagram, on an image of the NBA Finals standing on the parquet floor of TD Gardens, which many speculate is a reaction to Tatum's recent prediction.

Irving, the former Celtics player who famously shied away from re-signing with Boston in 2019 before signing with the Brooklyn Nets, has a checkered history with the franchise and its fan base. Kyrie also appeared on the team's mascot logo shortly after he, Kevin Durant, James Harden and the Nets eliminated his former team in the opening round of the 2021 playoffs.

After a busy offseason for the Mavericks' front office and players, Dallas is well positioned to make another deep run in the playoffs in 2025. The Mavs signed five-time All-Star shooting guard Klay Thompson to a three-year, $50 million deal, while Irving underwent successful surgery to repair his broken left hand and will be ready for training camp.

Kyrie Irving attends Mavericks offseason minicamp

Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic, Klay Thompson and the Mavericks have already begun training for the upcoming season in preparation for a possible rematch against Jayson Tatum and the champion Celtics. The Western Conference champions are conducting offseason workouts in Los Angeles, and Irving, whose availability was limited, joined his Mavs teammates, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

“We know Kyrie Irving had surgery on his left hand in July. But Kyrie, I'm told, has been there the whole time. He's very limited in what he can do,” Stein wrote. “At this point, he hasn't been cleared to play a full 5-on-5 basket. But basically, I've been told he's on track to be cleared in time for training camp, so I don't think there's anything to worry about. And of course, the game is in LA, so Southern California native Klay Thompson will be there.”

Stein says the offseason bonding has brought the team closer together on and off the basketball court.

“All I've heard about minicamp is that the on-court stuff was great, but maybe the off-court stuff was even better, and I can understand why there's so much talk about it because, you know, it's becoming more common in the NBA,” Stein wrote. “But I don't know if many Mavs teams in the past have brought 15 guys together in LA in August.

While Doncic has shown off his football skills alongside Orlando Magic All-Star Paolo Banchero, Luka could enter the 2024/25 season in the best shape of his NBA career. The stars are aligning for the Mavs, who are once again making it deep into the playoffs.