The Cleveland Cavaliers ' 2016 title reunion brought back one of the most iconic teams in NBA history, but it also raised an obvious question about the star who was not pictured.
LeBron James , Kevin Love , JR Smith , Tristan Thompson and Channing Frye were shown playing golf together as the group marked 10 years since Cleveland's unforgettable championship run.
The images immediately pulled fans back to the Cavaliers' 3-1 comeback against the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals. But the absence of one player quickly became impossible to ignore.
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
The reunion post on Instagram by NBA on ESPN showed several familiar faces from the 2016 championship team, but fans quickly asked why Kyrie Irving was not part of the golf trip.
Smith answered directly in the comments, writing: "Missing none. He [Kyrie Irving] was invited and ghosted us all. So stop with that B_."
That response pushed back against the idea that Irving had been left out. According to Smith, the former Cavaliers guard had the chance to join the anniversary gathering, but did not attend.
The comment stood out because Irving's place in that title run is not a small footnote. He was one of the central figures in Cleveland's comeback, and his absence was always going to be noticed by fans who still view the 2016 team as sacred.
Irving's connection to that Cavaliers championship is defined by one of the biggest shots in NBA history, but his role across the series went well beyond the final minute of Game 7.
With Cleveland facing a 3-1 deficit against a 73-win Warriors team, Irving and LeBron carried the offense through the comeback. In Game 5, they became the first teammates in NBA Finals history to each score 40 points in the same game.
Then came Game 7 at Oracle Arena. With the score tied at 89-89, Irving hit the go-ahead three-pointer over Stephen Curry with 53 seconds left, giving Cleveland the lead it never gave back.
That shot helped seal the Cavaliers' first NBA title and ended Cleveland's 52-year championship drought across major professional sports. It also made Irving forever linked to LeBron, Love, Smith, Thompson, Frye, and everyone else from that group.
Smith's comment did not erase Irving's place in Cavs history. It did, however, make clear that his absence from the anniversary gathering was not because nobody thought to invite him.
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