According to #DrederickIrving Friend “
A friend of mine, Drederick, was on the basketball team at BU. By the time we graduated, he had become the highest scorer in the history of the school, and three NBA teams were looking at him. I moved out to Los Angeles, and when I came back, Drederick walked in wearing a Hertz Rent-A-Car shirt. My heart dropped. That was the first time I realized that sometimes, in life, things don’t work out.
He told me, “Yeah, I work for Hertz. I didn’t get picked up by any NBA teams. I might go play in Australia.”
So he went to Australia. He married the same girlfriend he had from BU, played basketball to pay the bills, and had a daughter and then a son. He was still keeping the dream alive.
Then tragedy struck. His wife became seriously ill, and one day he got a phone call that she had died in the hospital from a rare disease. Through all this, he continued teaching his son basketball. His son began showing real talent, so Drederick moved back to New Jersey and New York to get him into elite basketball programs.
He took a job at Reuters in the World Trade Center. One morning in 2001, he walked into the building at 8:57 a.m., just minutes before the plane hit. He survived. Despite everything, he continued keeping the dream alive.
Drederick focused on his children, especially his son. His son started attracting attention from colleges, so he took him to meet Coach K at Duke. When they walked into the office, the TV was playing highlights from a BU versus Duke game in 1988, Drederick’s senior year. We had been ahead at halftime and almost pulled off the upset, and Drederick had played great.
Coach K, remembering Drederick, told his son, “A lot of kids are interested in coming to Duke, but if you’re anything like the man I remember competing against, Duke wants you.”
Drederick’s son went to Duke. He got hurt, but came back for the tournament and helped take the team to the Final Four. Then he was drafted into the NBA, finally living the dream his father couldn’t.
That son—Drederick’s son—is #KyrieIrving, who has become a superstar in the NBA. Last year, Kyrie made headlines by signing his father, Drederick Irving, to his signature shoe line with the Chinese brand ANTA, making history as the first time a professional athlete has signed their own parent to a deal. Drederick’s own shoe is expected to release in September 2024, marking a significant move for generational wealth and family support.
So if you want to understand why Kyrie has personal struggles, you have to know what it’s like to lose your mother overnight at ten years old. Without that context, it’s hard to have a real conversation about his life and character.”
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