Kyrie Irving timeline: The highs, the lows and the controversies

DALLAS - Kyrie Irving is the newest member of the Dallas Mavericks following a trade that sent out Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 first round pick and multiple second round picks.

The Mavericks shared the first photos and videos of Kyrie at practice on Tuesday. 

He is expected to make his Mavs debut in Wednesday's game against the Clippers.

The Mavs hope that Irving can be the bonfire second option to take some pressure off of superstar Luka Doncic, but the point guard comes with plenty of baggage.

Here's a timeline of Kyrie's career on and off the floor to this point.

June 23, 2011: Kyrie is drafted

The Cleveland Cavaliers draft Duke's Kyrie Irving with the first overall pick in the 2011 draft.

Jan. 19 2012: Kyrie makes his first All-Star game

In his second year in the NBA Kyrie makes his first All-Star team. It is his first of 8 career All-Star selections, including 2023.

June 19, 2016: Kyrie hits ‘The Shot’, Cavs win the NBA Finals

The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, ending the city of Cleveland's 52-year championship drought. Irving drains a long three pointer over Stephen Curry to put the Cavs up late in the game. Irving averaged 27.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game in the Finals.

Feb. 17, 2017: Kyrie claims the world is flat

In a podcast with teammates Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye, Kyrie first publicly claimed the earth is flat. 

"The earth is flat. The earth is flat," Irving said. "I'm telling you it's right in front of our faces. They lie to us."

It is not immediately clear if the point guard is joking or not, but the comments gain steam over All-Star weekend and Irving receives backlash. He flip-flops on the comments in several interviews over the next few months.

He eventually apologizes for the comments.

July 21, 2017: Kyrie demands trade from Cleveland

After the Cavs lost the 2017 Finals to the Golden State Warriors, Kyrie Irving told Cavs owner Dan Gilbert he wanted out. Sources said Irving told Gilbert he no longer wanted to play alongside LeBron James. 

Irving was 25 years old and still had 3 years and $60 million left on his contract at the time.

Aug. 22, 2017: Kyrie traded to Boston

The Cavs granted Irving his request in August 2017, dealing him to the Boston Celtics for point guard Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic and a first round pick.

June 29, 2019: Uncle Drew released in theaters

The movie, based on the Pepsi Max commercials where Irving would put on old man make up and beat players at pickup games, is released in theaters.

Kyrie starred in the movie alongside Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, Lisa Leslie and Nate Robinson.

It has a 61% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Oct. 4, 2018: Kyrie tells Boston he plans to resign with Celtics

A young Boston Celtics team had just taken the Cleveland Cavaliers to 7 games in the Eastern Conference Finals, with Kyrie sidelined with a knee injury.

He did not attend Game 7 because he claimed he was having surgery to fix his deviated septum.

The point guard, in the final year of his contract, told Celtics season ticket holders, "If you guys will have me back, I plan on re-signing here next year."

Feb. 1, 2019: Kyrie backtracks on talk about resigning with Boston

The Celtics struggled out of the gates in 2019, but were still solidly a playoff team. 

The leadership role wasn't going smoothly for Irving. 

"The young guys don’t know what it takes to be a championship-level team," Irving said.

At one point, Kyrie said he called to apologize to LeBron James about the way he acted when he was a young player.

When Kyrie is asked in early February if he wants to stay with the Celtics beyond 2019 he says, "At the end of the day I’m going to do what’s best for me and my career."

May 8, 2019: Irving, Boston Celtics eliminated from the playoffs

Boston is eliminated from the playoffs by the Milwaukee Bucks in 5 games. Irving struggles in the series, shooting just 35.6% from the field and 21.9% from three-point range.

In the final game he went 6-for-21.

After the game he got angry at reporters who asked him a question about his shooting slump.

"I'm trying to do it all. So, for me, the 22 shots, you know, I should've shot 30. I'm that great of a shooter," he said.

It was Kyrie's last game in a Celtics uniform.

July 1, 2019: Kyrie teams up with Durant, joins Brooklyn Nets

Kyrie Irving signs a 4-year, $141 million deal with the Brookyln Nets, joining Kevin Durant, who just tore his Achilles in the NBA Finals with the Warriors.

Rumors about the two joining up had been swirling since the two had been spotted talking during All-Star Weekend.

March 7, 2020: Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson is fired

Irving only plays 20 games in the season due to injuries and Durant misses the entire season. 

Rumors swirl that Irving and Durant pushed behind the scenes to get their head coach fired.

Both players have denied those rumors.

Sept. 30, 2020: Steve Nash hired by Brooklyn Nets

Former Mavs point guard Steve Nash is hired to be the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets, despite having no prior head coaching experience.

Nash had close ties with Durant.

Irving goes onto Durant's podcast saying, "I don't really see us having a ‘head’ coach. KD could be a head coach, I could be a head coach."

Jan. 7, 2021: Kyrie breaks COVID-19 protocols

Eight games into the season, Kyrie Irving is spotted maskless on video at a birthday party for his sister. 

He is fined $50,000 for violating the league's COVID-19 protocol, which forbid players from attending social gatherings of more than 15 peope. He misses a total of 7 games.

June 19, 2021: Nets eliminated from playoffs

The Brooklyn Nets are eliminated by the Milwaukee Bucks.,

Kyrie Irving misses the final three games of the series with an ankle injury.

Earlier in the playoffs, Irving was booed relentlessly by Celtics fans and intentionally stepped on the Celtics logo at half court.

Oct. 12, 2021: Nets announce Kyrie will not play due to vaccination status

Kyrie Irving refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making him ineligible to play home games under New York COVID laws.

The Nets said Kyrie would not practice or play for the team until further notice.

On Instagram Live, Irving said he was doing "what's best for me" by refusing to get the vaccine.

"It's just about the freedom of what I want to do," Irving said.

Irving liked posts on social media about vaccine conspiracy theories.

The point guard played in just 29 of the Nets 82 regular season games.

Dec. 12, 2021: Struggling Nets allow Irving to return part-time

The Nets change their stance on the Irving situation, allowing the point guard to play in road games.

He is still not allowed to play in Brooklyn.

April 25, 2022: Nets swept by Boston

The Brooklyn Nets are swept in the first round of the playoffs against the eventual Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics.

Irving, now allowed to play in home games, struggled in the series, only scoring more than 20 points in Game 1 of the series.

July 2, 2022: Irving opts into contract, seeks trade

Kyrie Irving picked up his $36.5 million player option with the Nets, but those close to him got permission from the Nets to seek out a trade deal that would send him to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The trade didn't come together and Irving began the season with the Nets.

Sept. 15, 2022: Irving posts Alex Jones video

Kyrie Irving posts a video of Infowars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on Instagram.

In the clip from 2002, Jones makes wild, unsubstantiated claims about the "New World Order" claiming the organization releases viruses on purpose to manipulate people.

Irving distanced himself from some of Jones' other claims, like that the shooting at Sandy Hook was a hoax.

""I do not stand with Alex Jones’ position, narrative, court case that he had with Sandy Hook, or any of the kids that felt like they had to relive trauma, or parents that had to relive trauma, or to be dismissive to all the lives that were lost during that tragic event," said Irving. "My post was a post from Alex Jones that he did in the early ‘90s or late ‘90s about secret societies in America of occults, and it’s true."

Oct. 27, 2022: Irving shares link to antisemitic movie

Kyrie Irving posted a link to the movie "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America" on social media.

The documentary, based on a book, claimed Black people are the true descendants of ancient Israelities and that Jewish people used "lies" to take their identity.

The movie claims one of those lies is the Holocaust, which the film says did not actually happen.

The documentary also uses made up quotes from multiple figures, including Adolf Hitler, whose name is misspelled in the movie.

Irving initially refused to delete the tweet or apologize for posting it.

"I’m not the one who made the documentary," Irving said.

He was later asked if he had antisemitic beliefs, and he didn't say no.

"I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from," Irving said.

Nov. 3, 2022: Nets suspend Kyrie Irving over tweet

The Brooklyn Nets announced a suspension without pay Kyrie Irving after repeatedly refusing to say he has no antisemitic beliefs.

The day before, Irving and the Nets each donated $500,000 dollars to the Anti Defamation League.

READ MORE: Nets suspend Kyrie Irving for at least 5 games without pay

"I oppose all forms of hatred and oppression and stand strong with communities that are marginalized and impacted every day," Irving said in a joint statement with the Nets and Anti-Defamation League. "I am aware of the negative impact of my post towards the Jewish community and I take responsibility."

"I do not believe everything said in the documentary was true or reflects my morals and principles," Irving said. "I am a human being learning from all walks of life and I intend to do so with an open mind and a willingness to listen."

Despite the statement, Irving did not directly apologize, and the ADL refused to accept Irving's donation.

Irving eventually did issue an apology in the form of an Instagram post, which has since been deleted.

The point guard ended up missing 8 games.

Dec. 5, 2022: Nike drops Kyrie Irving

Nike suspended and then ended its relationship with Kyrie Irving shortly after the antisemitism controversy.

The shoe company halted the released of the Kyrie 8s.

READ MORE: Nike, Kyrie Irving part ways after antisemitism controversy: report

Irving signed with Nike in 2011, when current Mavericks GM Nico Harrison worked for the shoe company.

Jan. 27, 2022: Kyrie named All-Star starter

Kyrie Irving was named a starter to the 2023 All-Star game, despite the controversy surrounding him.

Irving received strong support from players and the fan voting.

Feb. 3, 2023: Kyrie Irving requests trade from the Nets

Kyrie Irving requested a trade from the Nets.

The guard and the team came to an impasse while discussing a possible extension.

Reports say Irving was insulted by the Nets putting a ‘championship stipulation’ in their contract offer.

He allegedly told the team he would sit out fo the rest of the season if he was not traded by the Feb. 8 deadline.

Feb. 5, 2023: Irving traded to the Mavericks

The first reports come out that Kyrie Irving will be traded to the Dallas Mavericks.

Kyrie Irving deal now official for the Dallas Mavericks

The trade, which became official the next day, sent Irving and Markieff Morris to the Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 first round pick and two second round picks.

Irving is expected to play his first game with the Mavericks on Wednesday against the Clippers.