Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving is uncertain about the safety of the vintage Milwaukee Bucks court his team will play on. Irving is pictured on Oct.11, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Getty Images

Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving raised safety concerns over the throwback court his team will play on for Thursday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena.

The Bucks are hosting a "Return to the MECCA" night to honor of the former arena where the team played from 1977-1988. The franchise transformed the court for its 50th anniversary season and painted it in bright colors reminiscent of the original Robert Indiana-design.

"I'm all about safety, so we'll see how it is on my knees, see how it is on everyone's bodies," Irving said of the court after he tested it out before Thursday’s shootaround. "I know this is a pretty older court and it looks like it's fresh painted as well. I'm just going to do my assessment and go from there."

A reporter pointed out that the court was new and just designed to look like a replica, but Irving wasn’t impressed.

"It took me three steps to realize this is not the same NBA court I'm used to playing on," said Irving. "We'll see what's up."

Irving's safety concern comes amid a laundry list of injuries he's endured. The 25-year-old first fractured his left kneecap in 2015 and had knee surgery the same year. He scored 17 points and shot just 7-for-25 against the Bucks last week.

The Bucks considered using the original MECCA court but decided it could be a safety risk, so a brand new NBA-approved floor was installed instead. Bucks star big man Giannis Antetokounmpo talked about the history of the court.

"Being on this floor that has a lot of history — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson, a lot of players played on this floor — I’m excited for tomorrow’s game," Antetokounmpo told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Wednesday. "It takes a little bit of time to get used to (the court) because it’s kind of bright. That’s why we practiced today here so we can get used to it, but I love it."

Celtics coach Brad Stevens also talked about the significance of the court’s history. He had frequented the building during his stint as a volunteer assistant for Butler University's basketball team in 2000.

"It's a fun game to celebrate the history of basketball here in Milwaukee and certainly in the NBA," Stevens said. "It's always fun to be a part of stuff like this. But our focus has to be on playing the game."

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