Kyrie Irving has surprisingly measured response to Boston Celtics fans booing him still

Kyrie Irving sounds like a man at peace with the fact that Boston Celtics fans will never allow him to walk onto the TD Garden parquet and hear anything but a barrage of boos.

After the C's 138-110 victory over Irving's Dallas Mavericks on March 1, Irving had a surprisingly measured response to the city of Boston giving him an earful; this nearly five years after the mercurial point guard left the Celtics to sign with the Brooklyn Nets in free agency.

“The booing’s part of it,” Irving said (h/t NESN). “I have dealt with Boston fans prior to me even coming here. I’ve exited them a few times. But earlier in my career, we used to come up to Boston and smack them around. I’ve had both sides of the coin now, and I’ve accepted that’s what comes with the competitive side. I’ve had both sides. Sending Boston fans home then also booing me all the time. … They want to win, so you got to give them credit.”

Jaylen Brown feels Boston Celtics fans should boo stars like Nikola Jokic as much as they do Kyrie Irving

Jaylen Brown has no problems with Celtics fans exercising their freedom of speech rights, but he'd like to see them treat Irving the same way they do another visiting superstar -- specifically naming Nikola Jokic as an example.

"The fans, they do what they do," stated the three-time All-Star (h/t Inside The Celtics). "They've got whatever reason for that. I think (that) we should probably boo every player, every star player that comes in(to) our arena; I would like to see that. Maybe it has an effect, maybe it doesn't, but (Nikola) Jokic and all these other players come in here, boo them too."

Brown choosing Jokic was likely by design given the racial dynamic -- Irving once said there is an "underlying racism" pertaining to Boston's reaction to his return -- many see at play between the player and his former fanbase. Having spoken out against racial injustice countless times in the past, Brown is playing peacemaker here.