Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving has to go through quite the process to leave Team USA and join the Australian basketball team for the 2028 Olympic Games. But Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels is clearly in favor of the switch.
Daniels shared his thoughts on Irving joining Team Australia for the next Olympics with RG.com on March 10.
"Oh yeah, I love it. I love it," Daniels told RG. "I know he wants to do it. We want him to come play for us. There's a lot of stuff that has to get cleared for him to come play, but we welcome him with open arms. He's a brother."
Born in Melbourne, Australia, Irving has dual Australian and American citizenship. The Mavericks guard revealed at the NBA All-Star weekend that he is going through the many steps of switching to his birth nation for the Olympics.
"We're in the process of that right now, just trying to figure out what's going to be the best route for me to be eligible," Irving said on Feb. 17. "There's a lot of paperwork in between that."
Kyrie on possibly playing for Team Australia in the 2028 Olympics
"We're in the process of that right now ... There's a lot of paperwork to be filled out ... If I can play for the Australian team, that would be great." pic.twitter.com/QTW6kXMogi
— Kyrie Center (@kyriecenterig) February 17, 2025
Irving won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2016 Olympic Games. The guard also helped Team USA win gold at the 2014 FIBA World Cup. Irving won the World Cup MVP for his performance.
This season, Irving is averaging 33.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.2 rebounds for the Mavericks.
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This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 12:11 PM.