7 moments that defined Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward’s Celtics press conference

First it was Gordon Hayward, who left Utah to sign with Boston this summer. Then came Kyrie Irving, after shockingly orchestrating a trade out of Cleveland. Now, the Celtics have positioned themselves for success, acquiring two of the best players at their position.

Both Hayward and Irving addressed the media in their joint introductory press conference on Friday, giving fans a glimpse of Boston’s immediate NBA future. But if you missed the two stars taking the podium, there were a few moments to get caught up on.

When Irving requested a trade in July, reports surfaced of his desire to no longer play alongside one of the best basketball players of all time. Irving confirmed he hadn’t spoken to LeBron since the trade process began but thanked The King for the opportunity to learn from one of the greats:

What’s your relationship with LeBron like now, and have you spoken to him since this whole process began with asking for the trade?

“Ummm, no. I haven’t spoken to him, and my intent... was to look back at the amount of ground we covered in the last three years — or even before that because we had a prior relationship — and to really realize how special that was and to really realize how much growth happened in that amount of time.

“I’d be sitting up here and telling you guys a lie if I didn’t tell y’all I learned so much from that guy. The perfection of the craft comes in a variety of forms. And you watch and you watch and you ask a lot of the great players, ‘what does it take to be great?’ And I’ve had the unique opportunity to play with one of the greats and it was awesome.

“At times it was all over just like it is on any other team. And when you look back and you’re eternally grateful for the moments that you’ve had and you’ve shared, you’re able to put peace with that journey and start anew.

“This was a very, very challenging decision at first. But after a while, when you understand and you have that confidence in yourself to understand the magnitude of what you actually can accomplish and potentially can do with other great people.

“And now that I’m sitting here, it just echoes in terms of me just being very appreciative of not only the Cleveland fans and all of Ohio, as well as Bron in incorporating me into that special team we had in Cleveland. Because, I mean, three finals in a row, all the shared memories with [the teammates], they all know how I feel about them individually as well as the amount of love we have for one another. The brotherhood exists, even without all this, and it will continue. So that’s exactly where it is, and I’m very appreciative of it.”

Hayward could have joined forces with Irving years ago when he visited Cleveland as a restricted free agent. But then something happened: LeBron went back home. Hayward eventually signed an offer sheet from the Charlotte Hornets — one the Jazz inevitably matched — but the thought of what could have been made for one funny scene:

“I actually went to Cleveland on a visit when I was a restricted free agent, and Kyrie came in and was saying how much fun it would be if I was on the team; kinda recruiting me to go there. Then LeBron came and that kinda squashed that whole thing. But it came full circle and here we are now.”

Here’s more on what happened back in 2014.

Winner: social media.

Hayward was asked how he’d be able to handle Boston’s rabid fan base coming from a small town like Salt Lake City. No one could have predicted this as part of his response:

Especially not Jazz fans:

Hayward returns to Salt Lake City in Celtics green on March 28. Best believe Jazz fans have that date saved as their iPhone wallpaper.

On the same night Jae Crowder was traded as part of the Kyrie Irving deal, his mother passed away from cancer. Isaiah Thomas also endured a recent family death, losing his sister in a car crash in the middle of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Irving opened the press conference by acknowledging basketball isn’t everything — there are real events going on in the world today, and he paid tribute to Crowder and Thomas, as well as the victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston.

The most humane things that make us human, we lose track of sometimes. And I want to wish my well energy and heart out to Jae Crowder and his mother because that’s a hard situation to go through, especially when it gets wrapped up in all this.

Class act.

He’s an old soul, guys.

Who knew?