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"FacebookPinterest\n\nYou know the Kyrie Irving story: BMOC in HS, plays just 11 games in his only season at Duke due to injury, still gets drafted number one overall, wins Rookie of the Year. Great story? It gets better. This season, Irving has upped his averages and is posting 23.3 ppg to go with 5.7 apg. And if anyone &amp;quot;won&amp;quot; All-Star Weekend, it was Irving, who dazzled in the Rising Stars Challenge, won the Three-Point Shoot Out, then played crunch-time minutes in the actual game on Sunday. Also, it\u2019s not just Irving: his Cleveland Cavaliers started the season 5-23, but have quietly gone 11-9 in their last 20 games.\n\n&amp;quot;I\u2019m not the Rookie of the Year anymore,&amp;quot; Irving notes. &amp;quot;I always say I don\u2019t want to be that guy who they say, \u2019Oh, he won Rookie of the Year in 2012,\u2019 and in 2017 they\u2019re still talking about my rookie year. I\u2019m all about moving forward and just taking those steps that all the great players in our League have taken.&amp;quot;\n\n\n\nHow have the Cavs gotten so much better as the season has gone along?\n\n We\u2019ve added a few pieces here and there, and guys are just improving, and the more we play together the better we get. It\u2019s just continuing being out there with those guys.\n\nCleveland is my favorite League Pass team because you guys play with speed and energy. And Anderson Varejao was having a great year (averaging 14 ppg and 14 rpg) before he went down for the season.\n\n Every time you go out on the court with Andy, you know what you\u2019re going to get. He makes the game so much easier, especially when you\u2019re out there and the offense is not going well or the defense is not going well\u2014you see one person going up and down the court, never getting tired, and that\u2019s Andy. He\u2019s the epitome of what it means to play hard.\n\nWhat have you learned this season, your second time through the NBA?\n\n Just to be more patient, and to control the game a lot more; to take on challenges on myself, all the challenges the coaching staff throws in front of me. I feel like going into my second year, I was challenged to be the leader of this team and be an elite point guard. I\u2019ve tried to do that as best I can. Obviously, I\u2019ve been hurt some, and no excuses on that end, but coming to the gym every day, I just try to get better every single day and be a better leader. It\u2019s hard being the youngest player on the team and trying to get everybody to buy into the system that Coach Scott has, but I feel like now, guys are maturing and we have a core group now, we can now move forward. So I\u2019m feeling good about the team.\n\nLeadership is interesting to try and improve because it\u2019s not something you can work on by taking more free throws or lifting more weights. It\u2019s like you\u2019re working on an emotional level.\n\nOne thing that somebody told me is that leadership is a lonely role\u2014some people can do it and some people can\u2019t. I\u2019ve kind of assumed that role as a leader and I\u2019ve earned these guys\u2019 respect, and if I buy in and lead by example and with my voice, I feel like we can take this thing to the next level.\n\nHas Brandon Knight spoken to you since All-Star Weekend?\n\n[Laughs] You know, me and B have always had a fierce competition between us. It was all just part of the game, that\u2019s all.\n\nHave you ever had your ankles broken that badly?\n\n No, I have not.\n\nThere\u2019s been talk lately about getting LeBron into the dunk contest. You\u2019ve already won the three-point contest, what would it take to get you in the dunk contest?\n\n Aw man, I am not getting in the dunk contest. I probably have three dunks on the year, and that\u2019s enough. I\u2019m saving all my dunks for when I hit my prime, and that\u2019s about eight years from now.\n\nYou\u2019ve talked to GQ before about being into musicals and listening to music. When they play music during the games and you\u2019re out there on the floor, do you hear what they\u2019re playing, or do you just kind of zone it out?\n\n Oh yeah, I hear it all the time. But it doesn\u2019t affect me, I\u2019m so honed in on the game.\n\nDo you listen to music pregame?\n\n Usually I just listen to some Miguel, some Rihanna, some Jay-Z, some Chris Brown. A few things I\u2019ve got, just to relax my mind. Honestly, for me it\u2019s something to do to keep my mind away from the game. I know what I need to do in the game, I know I need to ecute. I\u2019ve worked countless hours in the gym, so I feel like I\u2019m already prepared for the game. So when I\u2019m listening to music pregame, it\u2019s really just about personal enjoyment.\n\nWhen you guys are going on a road trip, what are the things you don\u2019t leave home without?\n\n I don\u2019t leave home without my Skullcandy Crushers. I don\u2019t leave home without my Bible, without my phone, and without my computer.\n\nIs the worst part of staying in all those different hotels on the road trying to find a place to plug in your phone?\n\n Oh, absolutely. The iPhone 5 charger is not nearly as long, so it doesn\u2019t even reach to the bedside table. So that kind of sucks sometimes.\n\nHere\u2019s a pro tip: Maybe the best thing I ever bought on Amazon, is they have these 10-foot extension cords for the iPhone. And they only cost like three dollars. It will change your life.\n\n For real? Aw man, that would definitely come in handy.\n\nHow do you pack for, like, a 12-day road trip?\n\n I take everything from the dry cleaner and just throw it in there. I don\u2019t even know if it matches or anything like that, I just throw in shoes and my dry cleaning.\n\nDo you do laundry along the way? Or do you have to pack 12 pairs of underwear?\n\n I just buy new packs before every road trip.\n\nSo it\u2019s like disposable underwear?\n\n Yep.\n\nHow has your sense of style changed since you\u2019ve been in the NBA?\n\n It\u2019s night and day. It\u2019s funny, because now I can tell who\u2019s a rookie in the NBA and who\u2019s been in the NBA a while by the way they\u2019re dressed. Some of our rookies, like Dion (Waiters) and Tyler (Zeller) and Kevin (Jones), they\u2019re still figuring out what kind of style they want. They come to games and\u2014hypothetically\u2014Tyler will have on a button down, jeans and shoes. Dion will come in some Timberlands, jeans and a Young &amp;amp; Reckless sports coat, or something like that. But then me and Tristan (Thompson) or Alonzo (Gee) or Shaun Livingston, we have Balenciagas on with nice jeans and nice shirts. So you pick up on the stylish things after your first year. That\u2019s when you\u2019re like, &amp;quot;I know I can\u2019t wear this. I know I can wear this.&amp;quot; You\u2019re transitioning from college or wherever you\u2019re coming from to the NBA, and you have a little bit more money in your pocket.\n\nWho did you look to last season for your style cues?\n\n I took my style cues from Tristan. One thing I can say about Tristan, he\u2019s one of the most stylish guys on our team. Tristan has a little bit different style, but I like it. So some of the same brands and stuff like that, I looked to that as a guide."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/sophomore-bump-a-gqa-with-kyrie-irving>