Kyrie Irving suggested earlier this week that New York was well on its way to becoming a Nets town, and he doubled down on that belief at a promotional event on Thursday.
In a video from the event posted on Twitter, Irving mentioned the team will miss Kevin Durant as he recovers from his torn Achilles, but notes they are not going to simply wait around for the 12-time All-Star to return.
"So for real, that's my best friend and I want to send good health to him," Irving said. "But for the time being, we're going to take over the whole entire city. It's about us."
#sleepingmonster @BrooklynBrigade @netsdaily pic.twitter.com/LXRvqgLXlm
- Jose cruz (@Jengabcel) October 24, 2019
On Tuesday, Irving started the takeover discussion by saying that the team has converted New Yorkers from Knicks fans to Nets fans.
"Brooklyn's a place where they've built up everything around here, different residents are in here now. It's just a different culture," Irving said. "But the same people that have supported New York basketball are still here and they support the Brooklyn Nets now. It's just a respect thing. If you can play, they'll respect you."
With the war of words already underway, the Knicks and Nets will play the first of four games against each other this season Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Barclays Center.