Kyrie Irving Looks Forward to Potential Return to Barclays Center

Nets guard Kyrie Irving is looking forward to the possibility of making his season debut in the Barclays Center, according to ESPN.

Irving, who is not vaccinated against COVID-19, did not play until Jan. 5 this season due to his unvaccinated status. He still cannot play in home games due to New York City's vaccine mandate.

However, New York mayor Eric Adams said the city could lift the vaccine mandate soon, setting the stage for Irving's return to the Barclays Center court.

On Saturday night, Irving dropped a season-high 38 points in the Nets’ 126–123 win over the Bucks. After the game, Irving shared his thoughts on the prospect of playing in Brooklyn again.

“I’m glad that things are kind of settling down and there’s light at the end of the tunnel here,” Irving said. “Hopefully, I can get back on that home floor playing in the Barclays and now we can finally have that conversation that you’ve been dying to have just about turning the page and moving forward beyond this. But like I said, I’m not the only one. I feel for everybody that’s either in my boat or a similar boat or have dealt with some type of trauma from this. And just wishing everybody well-wishes, always.”

Irving made it clear that he’s been following New York’s news regarding the vaccine mandate.

“I’m following it as much as you guys are,” Irving said. “So just remaining patient and just seeing where things end up in this next week or so, next two weeks, I’m not too sure, but I know as much as you do. And I want to say this—is that I’m very appreciative of all those that are pushing behind the scenes to make our world a better place. And with everything calming down with the COVID cases, the most important thing for me was just making sure everyone’s OK. I’ve been on record saying this that it's not about me, that I don’t want to feel like it’s all on me, but the circumstances this year have not been ideal.”

In the next two weeks, the Nets only have three home games: Feb. 28 against the Raptors, March 3 against the Heat and March 13 against the Knicks.