Australian-born Kyrie Irving shoots for Olympic Boomers dream

Kyrie Irving in the green and gold at the 2028 Olympics? It could happen.

A report from Code Sports has revealed the Australian-born NBA superstar is in genuine talks with Basketball Australia (BA) about switching sides and playing for the Australian Boomers at the next Games.

Irving told reporters on Monday that he was “in the process” of pursuing* the switch.

“Man, we’re in the process of that right now, just trying to figure out the best route for me to be eligible,” Irving said after the NBA All-Star game.

“There’s a lot of paperwork involved. Obviously, USA still has a decision to make, but for me, I’m just trying to do what’s best.

“Honestly, if I can be an Aussie at one point in my career and play for the Australian team, that would be great.”

Code Sports reported that sources confirmed Irving “has been in touch” with BA and that both parties were keen to work on finding a way to have the 32-year-old represent Australia in L.A.

One source* told the publication Irving was “keen to play for Australia” and wanted to make it happen but that he would need Team USA to approve it and BA to then sign it off along with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

Irving mentioned the idea of possibly representing Australia while speaking to sports publication The Athletic in October last year.

“I would love to entertain playing for Team Australia,” he said at the time.

“I don’t think it’s a strong, strong possibility at this point, depending on what the Olympic Committee does. But as a competitor, I was born in Australia.”

Those comments came after Irving was left out of the Team USA squad for the Paris Olympics.

Irving also previously revealed on American video livestreaming* service Twitch that he wanted to represent Australia when he was a teenager but was blocked by Duke college coach and then-American national coach Mike Krzyzewski.

“I consider myself an international player even though I played on Team USA,” he said.

Irving was born in Melbourne and holds Australian and US dual citizenship*.

“A lot of my peers laugh at me when I bring it up and some fans may not agree, but I was born in Australia,” he said.

“Team USA asked me to play for them when I was 17 or 18 … I wanted to play for Australia, but it just didn’t happen.

“Coach K wasn’t going to let that happen either.”

Irving’s Australian fans will have to wait and see if the time has finally come to claim the star player as one of our own.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• pursuing: going after something
• source: a reliable person who can be trusted to provide factual information, used by journalists to verify the facts in a story
• livestreaming: transmitting video to an audience over the internet in real time
• dual citizenship: being a citizen of two countries at the same time

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QUICK QUIZ
1. In which Australian city was Kyrie Irving born?
2. When did he start playing for Team USA?
3. At which Olympics would he like to play for Australia?
4. At which Olympics was he left out of the USA team?
5. What needs to happen for Irving to be allowed to play for Australia at the Olympics?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What’s the rule?
Use information from the story to write a sentence explaining what the rules for joining the Australian Basketball team might be. Then check your answer to see if you are correct!

Time: allow at least 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education

2. Extension
“Only athletes who live, train and compete in Australia should be allowed to be in the Australian Olympic team.”

Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Use information from the story and maybe your research skills to write convincing paragraphs on this question.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Health and Physical Education

VCOP ACTIVITY
I’ve always wanted to know
If you had the opportunity to talk to Kyrie Irving or another athlete you admire and ask them five questions, what would you ask them?

Come up with five different questions. Challenge yourself to use different question stems (question openers words) to write your questions, and don’t forget to end with a question mark.