Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets was elected as Vice President at Monday's annual meeting of the Board of NBPA Player Representatives. The 9-year NBA Veteran had been serving as the Brooklyn Player Representative since the 2019-2020 season and will begin his term as Vice President of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) effective immediately.
"This was the right time for me to run for a leadership position in the NBPA,” said Irving in a statement about his election to the Executive Committee. “I have been an observer and a participant in union affairs for a while, but for the most part, I was off on the sidelines, supporting our Executive Committee as they made important decisions. At this point in my career, I wanted to join forces with those guys and take a bigger role outside of the basketball court and within our union. I want to help move the union forward with innovative ideas, not only on social issues but also with business ventures into a new space. I am honored to be elected by my peers and I cannot wait to work with everybody to make an impact."
Current NBPA President Chris Paul was very complimentary of Pau Gasol's impact on the international side of the NBA and is excited to have Irving's input in the future. Gasol's three-year term ended at the meeting, and he has not played on an NBA team yet this season.
“Pau brought an invaluable perspective to the Executive Committee as both an international player and a highly respected league veteran,” Paul said, "In the last three years, the NBPA has greatly expanded our resources for international players and I believe that is a direct effect of Pau. We are grateful to him for his service and we are thrilled to have Kyrie join us as the newest Vice President. Having a player of his caliber coupled with his off the court business acumen will help us to continue to strengthen the union as a whole and empower our individual voices as players.”
Irving is not inheriting the sole Vice President position. The Executive Committee is structured around a nine-person leadership team and 30 NBA Player Representatives. Irving is filling Gasol's role as one of the six Vice Presidents.
The NBA and the NBPA have a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that runs through the 2023-2024 season. Irving enters union leadership at a very stable period of negotiations.
Irving is in his first season with the Nets. He is averaging a career-high 27.4 points, although he has missed 33 of the 53 games Brooklyn has played this season.
The NBPA Executive Committee features Chris Paul (President), Andre Iguodala (First Vice President), Anthony Tolliver (Secretary-Treasurer), Bismack Biyombo, Malcolm Brogdon, Jaylen Brown, CJ McCollum and Garrett Temple (Vice Presidents).