When the Olympics come stateside, Kyrie Irving would like to represent the nation of his birth.
The Dallas Mavericks guard told reporters at the NBA’s All-Star weekend that he’d like to play for Australia at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Irving was asked about playing for Australia by what appeared to be an Australian reporter on Sunday.
“We’re in the process of that right now,” Irving told reporters. “Just trying to figure out what’s going to be the best route for me to be eligible. There’s a lot of paperwork in between that.”
Irving, 32, was born in Melbourne and raised in the U.S. He’s twice played for Team USA, winning a gold medal in Rio at the 2016 Olympics and winning gold at the 2014 World Cup. He didn’t play for Team USA at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo or at Paris 2024.
He’ll be 36 when the Olympics are scheduled to be played in Los Angeles, and making the Team USA roster would be far from a guarantee if he did want to represent the U.S. But an Australian team with considerably less competition would almost certainly welcome the nine-time NBA All-Star to its roster if he’s eligible.
“Obviously, Team USA still has a decision to make,” Irving said. “But for me, I’m just trying to do what’s best for me. Honestly, if I can be an Aussie at one point in my career and play for the Australian team, that would be great.”
What about USA vs. World NBA All-Star Game?
Irving was also asked about what he would do if the NBA All-Star Game changed its format to USA vs. the World. After another All-Star format tweak drew jeers on Sunday, chatter of a game featuring U.S. vs. international All-Stars has gained traction among players and media.
“I would pick the world right now, man, for competition’s sake,” Irving said.
Irving clarified that his intent isn’t to leave behind his U.S. teammates.
“I’m always gonna be with my USA guys,” he continued. “We have so much history together. I’m just grateful that I can be both. Raised in the U.S., but born in Australia.”
While a USA vs. the World All-Star Game is intriguing, the numbers as of now fall a bit short of allowing the idea to be reality. A hypothetical international lineup featuring Luka Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokić would be formidable. But this year’s roster of All-Stars wouldn’t fill out a 12-man lineup.
Alperen Şengün (Turkey) and Pascal Siakam (Cameroon) joined Antetokounmpo, Jokić, Wembanyama and Gilgeous-Alexander on Team Chuck’s roster of international All-Stars in this year’s four-team format. But Barkley had to draft New York native Donovan Mitchell and New Jersey native Karl-Anthony Towns to get his roster to eight players.
Towns, whose late mother Jacqueline Cruz was Dominican, has represented the Dominican Republic in international play. Mitchell’s grandmother was from Panama, and he’s celebrated his Panamanian roots throughout his career.
Exceptions like these would appear to be the path to making a U.S. vs. World All-Star Game a reality. Adding Aussie native Irving to the mix if he’s selected as an All-Star would get the league that much closer to making it happen.
