Kyrie reacts to former architect of NYC Covid policy bragging about blocking guard from playing

Dr. Jay Varma — who was behind New York City’s Covid policies earlier in the decade — was caught on camera crediting himself for why star guard Kyrie Irving was unable to play for the Brooklyn Nets for a lengthy period of time.

Irving reacted to the footage on X on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old missed much of the 2021-22 regular season because he could not play in Brooklyn’s home games for a lion’s share of the campaign. Irving needed to be vaccinated in order to comply with New York City’s mandate, yet he refused to conform to the Covid policies. However, the vaccine mandate changed in the latter portion of that season, and he was finally able to play at Barclays Center again.

Irving suited up in only 29 of the Nets’ 82 regular-season games, but he played at a high level in the rare instances where he took the court with his teammates. He averaged 27.4 points on 46.9 percent shooting from the field and 41.8 percent from 3-point range while also contributing 4.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.4 steals per contest.

The guard didn’t get many opportunities to develop chemistry with the other players on the Nets that season, however, and that was evident during Brooklyn’s series against the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2022 NBA Playoffs.

Irving still averaged 21.3 points per game, but that was a far cry from his regular-season scoring average. The former Duke University star did not carry the scoring load as effectively as the Nets needed him to, and Brooklyn was defeated by Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and company in convincing fashion.

The Australian native saw his stint with the Nets come to an end not long after Brooklyn’s first-round exit. After spending part of the 2022-23 regular season with the Nets, he was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks and teamed up with Luka Doncic.

Perhaps Irving has found a new home in Dallas, as he recently helped the team reach its first NBA Finals in over a decade.