Nets' Kyrie Irving Leads Eastern Conference Guards In All-Star Voting Despite Controversies Manufactured by Media

Don't let all the controversies fool you ... Kyrie Irving is that good.

Advancing the point was the recent release of All-Star fan votes, where Irving soared to the top of the Eastern Conference guards race.

Kyrie not only led the voting with a whopping 2,071,715 first-place votes, but he also distanced himself from the rest of the pack despite facing a considerably steeper path to the spot than the rest.

Irving has encountered a slew of controversies before reaching this point, including the Nets' temporary suspension of Irving over the Hebrews to Negroes tweet and his position on not taking the vaccine to play. Even Nike decided to cut ties with him over the controversial film.

In that timeline of drama, countless NBA analysts (namely on ESPN) said that Irving wasn't worth the trouble; that he couldn't be a leader; that Brooklyn was best to cut ties with him.

Now the team finds itself third in the Eastern Conference standings at 25-13 (tied with Milwaukee) and just one game behind first place.

This season, Irving has been going off: averaging 26.2 points, five rebounds, 4.6 assists and shooting 36.6% from beyond the arc.

Overshadowing elite guards in the East, such as Donovan Mitchell, who scored 71 points Monday, and Philadelphia's James Harden, it's clear that Irving's star can continue to rise as long as the media doesn't get in the way.

(Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)

Plenty of credit for the Nets' success goes to not just Irving, but also teammate Kevin Durant and interim coach Jacque Vaughn, who's allowed Irving to bud in the offense unlike previous coach Steve Nash, who appeared out of his depth on the court and in the executives' room when Irving endured controversy.