Nets star Kyrie Irving fined $25,000 for 'directing obscene language' at Cavaliers fans

The NBA fined part-time Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving $25,000 "for directing obscene language toward a fan" during his team's loss to the host Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Monday.

The incident occurred during a break in the action with 4:19 remaining in the second quarter of Brooklyn's eventual 114-107 loss. After Nets forward Day'Ron Sharpe fouled Cavaliers counterpart Cedi Osman on a drive, fans began heckling Irving. "You need LeBron [James]?" one fan asked. "Where's [Kevin Durant]?"

"Got y'all a championship and motherf***ers still ungrateful," Irving responded.

"Just one," multiple fans responded.

Irving and James led the Cavaliers to their first and only NBA title in 2016. Irving requested a trade the following season, and James left in 2018 free agency. The Cavaliers were a bottom-feeding franchise for the ensuing three years — until this season. Cleveland (27-19) is currently sixth in the Eastern Conference.

Monday marked just the fourth time in nine opportunities Irving has played in Cleveland since his exit. He has also missed three of his four regular-season games in Boston since reneging on a promise to re-sign with the Celtics in 2019. A Celtics fan was arrested and banned for life from TD Garden in May for throwing a water bottle at Irving when he stomped on the mascot at center court during a first-round playoff series.

Irving has played just five games this season following his refusal to be vaccinated from COVID-19. New York's vaccine mandate prevents Irving from playing home games in Brooklyn. The Nets also banned him from playing road games, until recent circumstances led to them to reverse their self-inflicted policy.

Irving has been fined $381,181 for each home game he has missed for failing to meet the city's mandate. That total has already risen to $8,767,163. His latest fine is merely a drop in the bucket of mounting bills.

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Ben Rohrbach is a staff writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach