For the first time in his career Kyrie Irving is playing in the Western Conference after getting traded to the Mavericks. The 2016 NBA champion is eyeing his second title.
Dallas is also trying to build a championship-caliber team. Last year the Mavs went all the way to the Western Conference Finals where they lost to the eventual champions the Warriors.
With the addition of Irving, many think that the team further increased its chances of contending for the title this year. The player says he feels strongly about the Mavericks’ ambitions.
“I feel very strongly about our ambitions to winning a championship,” Kyrie said. “I can sit up and say ‘We’re going to win one’ and put it out there, but we have all these great players in the way.
“That’s the beauty of this game, that’s the beauty of this sport, that’s the beauty of this profession is make you go against the best. I’m grateful that I’m in the Western Conference now because they say this is the best conference. It’s loaded with guys, loaded with talent.
“I want to walk up that mountain. I want to climb up that mountain and this is what I want for my career because winning in the West at this point with all these great young guys that are coming in, and of course Eastern Conference is competitive I would have loved to stay there two, but being in the Western Conference is a challenge I needed.”
So far Dallas is 1-3 since Irving joined the team. With 31 wins and 29 losses the Mavs are sixth in the West.
