"You Confronted Me": Jaylen Brown & Kyrie Irving Came Close to Fighting as Old Conversation Goes Viral

Former Celtics players Jaylen Brown and Kyrie Irving share several similarities that extend beyond the basketball court. One such common ground is that they sometimes spend time away from the basketball court, livestreaming.

In July 2025, almost a year ago, the two of them came together for a 24-hour stream hosted by Irving. During that crossover event, the two of them ended up discussing their time playing together for the Boston Celtics.

The pair was talking about an incident wherein they almost fought during a practice session. Brown shared that before that practice session, he had not heard Irving's voice for two weeks.

"I don't know what was going on," Brown shared. "But you decided you needed to have a heart-to-heart with everybody, so you confronted me. I remember we were standing under the basket, and then you came up to me."

The incident came after Irving lost his grandfather in 2018. As a result of that family tragedy, Irving's teammates did not hear from him for quite some time.

“You confronted me," Brown added. "I was standing under the basket & you pointed at my face & was like ‘I know who you are. ”

The two laughed as they reminisced about the situation. Brown also admitted he did not even remember the point of the argument.

Irving then said that it was not an argument, while also taking accountability for his actions. He said that it was just an overflow of emotion on his end after he had lost his grandfather. He shared that after the funeral, he did not take any time off and returned to the team immediately.

Losing his grandfather was also the reason Irving cited for reneging on a statement he had made about his commitment to the Celtics.

Kyrie Irving Admits Losing His Grandfather Affected Decision to Leave Boston

In October 2018, Irving told Boston Celtics fans he would remain with the franchise. Less than a year later, he decided to join the Brooklyn Nets on a 4-year deal, leaving his supporters in Boston feeling betrayed.

Fans weren't necessarily caught off guard with that decision. Leading up to the summer of 2019, there were already indications that Irving was no longer interested in re-signing with the Celtics despite initially claiming so.

According to Irving, things changed after his grandfather passed. He said that he stopped feeling joy when playing basketball. During that time, he shared that he became uncharacteristically withdrawn.

"I was supposed to sign back for 5 years(w/ Celtics), I announced it, then my Grandfather passed a week later," he recalled. "After I left the team to go to his funeral, I didn’t take ANY time off & went straight into the game."

Later, he clarified that his personal relationship with his teammates remained good, but also admitted he failed as a leader during his final season in Boston.

Irving's time with the Nets also did not last very long. Ahead of the 2023 trade deadline, he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks.

Then, during the 2024 NBA Finals, he faced off against and lost to Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, whom Irving had mentored while with the Celtics.