Revisiting the Beef Between Past and Present Nets Point Guards

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In the marquee matchups between these two premier point guards in the league, it's hard not to notice the two raising their game when Kyrie Irving and Dennis Schroder match up with each other.
After an encounter in 2021 where both were ejected during a Los Angeles Lakers-Brooklyn Nets game, Schroder now finds himself as the starting point guard for the franchise Irving once played for.
With Schroder and Irving keeping up with each other's scoring prowess throughout the contest, the ejection of the two may have been excessive, preventing a potentially wild finish in Brooklyn. So instead of continuing their back and forth on the court, the two took it to social media. Here is what Irving had to say regarding the exchange the two had within the game.
The N-word is a derogatory racial slur!
— Chief Hélà 🤞🏾 (@KyrieIrving) April 11, 2021
It will never be...
-a term of endearment
-reclaimed
-flipped
NEVER FORGET ITS FOUL AND TRUE HISTORY!
Throw that N-word out the window, right alongside all of those other racist words used to describe my people.
We are not slaves or N’s
As for Schroder, he immediately made a video explaining why he can't wear Irving's signature shoes anymore, kicks that he enjoyed wearing before their verbal exchange in 2021. Today, the Nets guard has his own collection with Puma, recently collaborating for a World Cup Edition of his shoes.
Kyrie Irving’s sneakers won’t touch Dennis Schroeder’s feet ever again says Lakers PG: “Unfortunately l can’t wear them no more. It’s not possible after what happened in the game.
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) May 17, 2021
“I can not do it. Not going to wear it again. We will do giveaways for everybody who wants them.” pic.twitter.com/upBy0Zjyvr
Schroder took home tournament MVP for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, an award Irving once held in 2014, on his way to leading Germany to their first ever World Cup. Amidst Irving making a deep playoff run right now with his new team the Dallas Mavericks, you can't help but wonder who has been the most disciplined floor general between the two since their double ejections.
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Ajayi has covered the NBA for several years, most notably covering the league at large for SLAM and the Brooklyn Nets at several outlets before joining Inside the Nets.
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