Irving to “entertain” the possibility of representing Australia in 2028

NBA superstar and Australian native Kyrie Irving has flirted with the idea of playing for the Boomers in the 2028 Olympic Games after admitting he was disappointed to be left out of Team USA’s side for Paris.

The Dallas Mavericks guard was denied a chance to try out for the USA’s 2024 Olympic side, despite winning Gold in both the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

Irving, who was born in Melbourne, has represented the USA 14 times but has long floated the possibility of an allegiance change to his native country.

Although Irving revealed his interest in making the switch ahead of the 2028 event, he conceded his fate is in the hands of the Olympic Committee.

“I would love to entertain playing for Team Australia man,” Irving told The Athletic.

“I don’t think it’s a strong, strong possibility at this point, depending on what the Olympic Committee does.

“But as a competitor, I was born in Australia.

“For me, it’s not a hard transition to make ... I don’t want to fall into the trap of being let down or disappointed when I know that there are other opportunities out there for me.”

In another interview over a year ago, Irving admitted he tried to represent Australia at the junior level but was denied by then-coach Mike Krzyzewski.

“I consider myself an international player even though I played on Team USA,” Irving said.

“A lot of my peers laugh at me when I bring it up and some fans may not agree, but I was born in Australia.

“Team USA asked me to play for them when I was 17 or 18 … I wanted to play for Australia, but it just didn’t happen.

“Coach K wasn’t going to let that happen either.”

Irving will be 36 at the time of the 2028 Games but will need permission from both Team USA and FIBA in order to confirm the switch.