NBA

Kyrie Irving adds another media critic to his 1-on-1 schedule

Kyrie Irving now has another critic in his sights. 

After Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy went back and forth on Twitter with Irving — with a game of 1-on-1 to settle their differences — the NBA superstar called out Outkick writer Mike Gunzelman after he wrote about it.

The Clay Travis-founded site, which was acquired by the Fox Corp. in 2021, tagged Irving in a tweet promoting the story which prompted the former Brooklyn Nets guard to respond. 

“I can tell you rushed to your computer to get this out on Saturday lol. Make sure you’re treating yourself well Mike,” Irving wrote in a tweet featuring a googled photo of Gunzelman. 

Irving then tweeted Gunzelman again seemingly challenging him to a game of 1-on-1 after the NBA star faced Portnoy.

The “TV & Radio Host & Content Creator” accepted the challenge, though the Outkick writer attempted to change up the parameters to a game of “NBA 2K.”

Realizing the play on social media that he was getting, Gunzelman tweeted several more times about the challenge before Irving responded. 

“Oh Cmon Mike, is this another one of your futile attempts to be funny and insult me?” Irving wrote back. “You gotta realize who you’re f***ing with. Choose your rivals wisely. Nothing fazes me after what I had to go through since I stopped being a sheep out here in society, So, please pick a time and place you wanna do this 1v1, and keep the same exact energy when you’re in my face.

Kyrie Irving #2 of the Dallas Mavericks looks on during action against the Sacramento Kings
Kyrie Irving now has multiple media 1-on-1 games on his docket. Getty Images

“The eyes are the window to the soul”. Can’t wait to see how much you run your mouth when I am standing in front you.”

Irving has not been shy about standing up to his detractors and he implored his followers to ignore the offseason rumors involving him.  

Irving will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and it was reported that he had reached out to LeBron James about joining forces in Dallas.

The Houston Rockets also reportedly have interest in adding Irving if they cannot keep his former Nets teammate James Harden from returning to Philadelphia.