Kyrie Irving almost chose to play for Australia over Team USA

In 2012, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving had begun to think about which country he would represent when given the opportunity. With the 2012 London Olympics quickly approaching, he had to make up his mind. Would he represent Australia, the country where he was born or would he represent the United States, where he has spent the majority of his life. While it was only four years ago, Irving declared himself “an Australian at heart”, per FOX Sports.

After almost joining Australia in 2012, he decided to skip the Boomers. Why, you ask? His college head coach. While he was only at Duke University for one season, the 24-year-old spent significant time with Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski, or more often known as “Coach K”. That one season played a very key role in Irving’s decision, and ultimately made him wait to make Team USA and skip out on joining Australia.

“(Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski) was a huge part of the decision,” said Irving. “I mean, he’s Coach K. As a young fella, he definitely did tell me I had a chance to be a part of something bigger than myself and ultimately being the starting point guard on the US Olympic team. I never thought it would happen as soon as it has. It’s crazy to see how it has worked out.”

After Team USA beat Team Australia 98-88 Wednesday night, putting the red, white, and blue in the driver’s seat heading into tournament play, Irving appears to have made the right decision. In the win over the Aussies, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound point guard had 19 points, five assists, two rebounds, and one steal while making 7-of-15 shots from the field and 2-0f-5 from beyond the arc, finishing second on the team in scoring and first in assists.

So far in Rio, Uncle Drew has averaged 12.7 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists while shooting 46 percent from the field and 53 percent from three-point land in 20.3 minutes per game. Starting all three games at point guard for USA thus far, Irving has made the most of his first Olympics experience representing the country he loves, even if it wasn’t necessarily the one in which he was born.