What Was Kyrie Irving Thinking?

Last fall, September 11 fell on a Sunday, and Kyrie Irving spent much of it at home in West Orange, New Jersey, playing video games. It was rainy and quiet, and his life was uncharacteristically lacking in drama. Irving had won an epic standoff with the Brooklyn Nets and the mayor of New York over his refusal to get vaccinated for COVID-19. His teammate and fellow oddball superstar Kevin Durant had withdrawn a recent trade request to stick by his side. Nike was preparing to release the ninth edition of his best-selling sneaker. On his Xbox, Irving fired up NBA 2K23 and activated a geeky, khaki-clad, one-inch-taller avatar of himself. He also began to livestream on Twitch, monologuing dreamily for three hours and 40 minutes to an audience of a few thousand total strangers.