Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving prefers to play in Boston after he called it a better 'sports city' than Cleveland. He is pictured on Sept. 25, 2017 in Canton, Massachusetts. Getty Images

Kyrie Irving — who asked to be traded out of Cleveland after three consecutive NBA Finals appearances with LeBron James and the Cavaliers — is currently with the Celtics in Boston, which he declared to be more of a "real, live, sports city."

"I just moved in to a whole new place, I’ve been there a month or so," Irving told the Charlotte Observer in an interview published Wednesday. "I’m becoming very well acclimated to what is going on; our schedule and how it best fits for me to be the best I can be."

The 25-year-old guard claimed that Boston is a more exciting, bustling city compared to Cleveland.

"You would go to Cleveland, and it would be at nighttime, and things would be going on, but you just see a vast difference in terms of what the Midwest is — Cleveland — and what Boston is," Irving said. "Boston, I’m driving in and [thinking], ‘I’m really playing in a real, live sports city?’ And a great city."

Many took to social media Wednesday and commented on Irving’s statements, suggesting that he disrespected his former city.

He first shocked Cavs fans after his hasty departure from Cleveland in a blockbuster trade with the Celtics in August, after six seasons and one NBA championship. Irving requested a trade out of Cleveland in July, citing unhappiness as one of his reasons. He was with the Cavaliers since they selected him with their No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 draft.

Irving may have just rubbed salt into the wound when he lauded Boston. But Irving, who grew up in New Jersey, is used to living on the East coast.

"It ’s exciting to be back on the East Coast," Irving told the Charlotte Observer. "It’s fast-paced. A lot of different cultures, food, and people. You get it all, especially in Boston. I was talking to my best friend the other day: It’s a really major city. Coming from Cleveland, the Midwest, where the culture is different. And then you move to the East Coast — into Boston — and it’s so real [and] alive. An ongoing, thriving city. Consistently. No matter what hour throughout the night."

Irving is set to make his Celtics debut against the Cavaliers at the Quicken Loans Area Tuesday and is anything but nervous, he told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated Wednesday.

"No. Why would it be? It’s just hoops," Irving said. "It’s just hooping. I understand the magnitude. But I know what it is going to entail in terms of marketing, whatever the case may be, to garner up this energy to make people feel a certain type of way. I get all that. It’s part of the game. It’s been a part of the game for a while. But, it’s just two hoops and a basketball."

"It’s all love no matter what," Irving added. "I have heard boos at times to hearing cheers in the parade. I’ve been in the championship parade as well as being down 30 in ‘Q Arena.’ So, I’ve heard it all. It’s just good to be there and hoop against a great team like the Cavs."

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