Kyrie Andrew Irving was born March 23, 1992, in Melbourne, Australia. His parents, Drederick and Elizabeth Irving, were American expatriates. Drederick had played college basketball at Boston University, a steady scoring guard who averaged nearly 20 points as a senior and led the Terriers to a conference championship. After college, he moved his young family to Australia to play for the Bulleen Boomers. Kyrie was born in Melbourne and lived in the suburb of Kew until he was two. He holds dual American and Australian citizenship.
His mother, Elizabeth Ann Larson Irving, was African American and a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, of Lakota heritage. She had played basketball and volleyball at Boston University, where she met Drederick. Elizabeth died of an illness when Kyrie was four. She was twenty-nine. Drederick raised Kyrie and his older sister Asia with the help of Irving’s aunts, brought them back to the United States, and settled in West Orange, New Jersey. Everything he had dreamed for himself, he poured into his son.
Kyrie grew up watching Drederick’s adult-league games. His father parked Asia’s carriage at the end of the bench. Kyrie didn’t play with the other kids — he watched. In fifth grade, he attended a camp at Boston University and the head coach offered him a scholarship on the spot. He was ten years old. But the defining moment came in fourth grade, when his school visited Continental Airlines Arena. Kyrie played on the court during the trip and wrote on a piece of paper: I will play in the NBA, I promise.
He attended Montclair Kimberley Academy, a small private school, and became only the second 1,000-point scorer in school history: 26.5 PPG, 10.3 APG, 4.8 RPG, 3.6 SPG. Spectacular on the floor, invisible to the national rankings. His father believed he wasn’t getting the exposure he deserved.
Before his junior year, Kyrie transferred to St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth — a basketball powerhouse. On his first day, his host spotted him in the hallway: an untucked uniform two sizes too big, a mismatched vest, and two G-Shock watches on the same wrist. Then came the pickup game. Kyrie was shy at first. Then he threw the ball through a defender’s legs, ran after it, pulled back, and shot. The gym went quiet.
At St. Patrick, he played alongside Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. They led the team to a state championship. Senior year, the school was banned from the Tournament of Champions after an illegal preseason practice was caught on tape. Irving cried when he heard the news. That night he scored 28 against Oak Hill. He also performed in the school’s production of High School Musical. McDonald’s All-American. Jordan Brand Classic Co-MVP. FIBA Americas U18 gold. He committed to Duke on October 22, 2009, on live television.
His father told him in eighth grade he’d be the best guard in New Jersey. Coach K saw him in an AAU tournament and said: you are single-handedly killing all these teams. If you are fortunate to have a father like I have, Kyrie would later say, you’re given a foundation. You can be content with that, or take it and run with it, like I did.