BROOKLYN — In the history of the NBA, no team has promised more and delivered less than the Brooklyn Nets’ “Big Three” era. The union of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden was supposed to be a coronation—a dynasty that would bring championships to New York and redefine offensive basketball. Instead, it ended in a cloud of trade demands, sweeps, and “what ifs.”
For years, the public narrative has blamed the collapse on Kyrie Irving’s availability, Kevin Durant’s wanderlust, or James Harden’s impatience. But this week, Kyrie Irving pulled back the curtain, revealing a story of organizational instability, internal doubt, and “betrayals” that doomed the experiment before it ever truly began.
The Foundation Was Cracked From Day One
In a candid revelation that changes the timeline of the disaster, Irving admitted that the tension didn’t start with the losing—it started with the hiring of head coach Steve Nash.
“When Steve became our head coach, he even admitted to me that he had his own reserves on coaching me,” Irving revealed. “And I had my reserves on being coached by him.”
Think about that. The foundation of the most scrutinized team in sports was built on a coach who wasn’t sure he could handle the star point guard, and a star point guard who doubted the coach’s credentials. While Irving publicly supported Nash out of loyalty to Kevin Durant (who pushed for the hire), the seeds of doubt were planted immediately.
“I felt like there were other candidates out there that could have definitely been our head coach that had championship experience,” Irving noted, hinting that the rookie head coach was ill-equipped to manage the circus that was about to unfold.
The “Betrayal” of Intel
While the internal dynamics were shaky, Irving points to a specific departure as the catalyst for the team’s on-court unraveling: the exit of assistant coach Ime Udoka to the Boston Celtics.
Udoka wasn’t just another assistant; he was a defensive architect who knew the Nets’ playbook, player tendencies, and weaknesses inside out. When he left to become the head coach of a division rival, he took the “cheat codes” with him.
“Handing your playbook to a rival was on another level,” the analysis notes. “Every tendency, every set, every weakness—all of it came back to bite them.”
The consequences were immediate and brutal. When the Nets faced the Celtics in the 2022 playoffs, they were swept in humiliating fashion. Udoka had his team prepared for everything Brooklyn tried to run, neutralizing the pure talent of Irving and Durant with a defensive scheme built on intimate inside knowledge.
The Human Element: Mental Health and “The Trade”
Perhaps the most poignant part of Irving’s reflection is his admission of personal struggle. The season that fans remember for his absences was, in reality, a time of severe mental health and family challenges.
“Behind the scenes, he was struggling badly,” reports confirm. “Family issues, personal problems, mental health struggles—all of it hit him during that same season.”
Irving admits he isolated himself, failing to communicate his pain to his teammates, which created a void that the media filled with speculation. This isolation directly contributed to James Harden’s decision to leave.
The trade that sent Harden to Philadelphia for Ben Simmons is viewed by Irving as the final nail in the coffin. It wasn’t just losing an MVP-caliber player; it was the uncertainty of what they were getting back.
“I don’t think we knew the landscape of where Ben was at,” Irving confessed regarding Simmons’ mental and physical state. “It wasn’t a fair trade.”
The 13-3 “What If”
Despite the chaos, Irving reminds the world of the tragedy of the situation: When they actually played, they were unstoppable. The trio of Durant, Irving, and Harden went 13-3 together, destroying defenses with an efficiency that looked like a video game.
“That’s a 79-win pace,” analysts point out. “Historically dominant.”
But bad luck intervened. A toe on the line by Kevin Durant in the playoffs against Milwaukee turned a series-winning three into a game-tying two, eventually leading to an overtime loss. That one inch likely cost the Nets a championship and changed the trajectory of the franchise forever.
The Verdict
The collapse of the Brooklyn Nets wasn’t a simple story of ego. It was a perfect storm of organizational instability, coaching inexperience, personal crises, and bad timing.
“We were committed, but everyone else wasn’t,” Irving said, referring to the constant turnover of staff and front office personnel.
The “Super Team” didn’t fail because they weren’t talented enough. It failed because talent needs stability to thrive, and in Brooklyn, the ground was always moving beneath their feet. As Irving suggests, the full story—including the perspectives of Durant and Nash—might one day be told in a documentary. But for now, the lesson remains: You can buy talent, but you can’t buy chemistry, health, or peace of mind.
