I get a bit sick of Kyrie calling himself an Aussie. If he was so Aussie he'd be wearing different colors. He's using his Australian birth as some sort of gimmick.

ME, do you have heritage split between two countries? If not, you may not understand what it can mean to people.

I imagine in this case if he was further down the PG pecking order and maybe didn't have the coach link, it could well have happened. However, with any serious shot at Team USA, that's obviously going to be his priority.

Sorry, where does the "Heritage Split" come in?

He was born here to American parents, and went to America permanently when he was two. He would not even remember Australia, much less have Australian "Heritage."

Many countries would not even acknowledge such a birth.

My Cousin was born at RAAF Butterworth. He doesn't consider himself Malaysian.

he said he wants to play IN his country of birth not FOR it... so im guessing he is willing to play NBL rather than play for the Boomers

Stretching a bit here guys

Nick Marvin will find a way to make it happen. #WildcatsChamps2028

He was born here to American parents, and went to America permanently when he was two. He would not even remember Australia, much less have Australian "Heritage."

Spoken like someone who doesn't get it, Dazz.

I was not born in Slovenia. Nor my brother. Nor my mother, who was born just over the border in Italy. But my maternal grandparents were Slovenian, spoke the language, brought the food and customs with them, and it's something that I and my siblings have always associated with. I've been to Slovenia a couple of times to meet distant relatives and see the areas in which my grandparents grew up before they came to Australia by ship in the 1950s, and that's something special to me.

That's despite me not being born there and neither of my parents being born there. Kyrie was born in Australia. His father lived and worked here for a time.


When he talks about playing in Australia, I imagine he's talking about an exhibition series at most.

Is his mother Australian? I don't really know anything about his family.

If none of this family including grandparents are actually Australian and given he was here for just the first two years of his life it would be a real stretch for him to identify in really anyway as an Aussie apart from technicality.

I think it's a bit different to Australians born and living here who have actual family of strong Greek, Italian, Eastern European, Asian or whatever else heritage. They'd get immersed into that as really being part of their blood. Irving seems just happened to be born while his father was working in another country.

Dazzleland

I was not born in Slovenia. Nor my brother. Nor my mother, who was born just over the border in Italy. But my maternal grandparents were Slovenian, spoke the language, brought the food and customs with them, and it's something that I and my siblings have always associated with. I've been to Slovenia a couple of times to meet distant relatives and see the areas in which my grandparents grew up before they came to Australia by ship in the 1950s, and that's something special to me.

Just FacePalm.

And again, FacePalm.

I know what Heritage is.
My point is that he doesn't have any.

I'm exceptionally proud of my Heritage, even though its one set of Great-Grandparents, and otherwise Great-Great-Grandparents, who were last born in the "Old Country." I also have Indigenous Heritage, of which I am also proud. My Wife has a different Heritage, and so my kids, whilst obviously Australian, are well aware of their multi-faceted origins.
Perhaps the ultimate ironic twist is that my wife qualifies for a UK passport, despite never having set foot in the country.
I know people who were born O/S but consider themselves "Australian" first, and vice versa.

So explain to me exactly what Australian Heritage this guy has???
His Heritage is American. (Black American, might be considered more accurate by some.)
He has no Australian ancestors, and was raised in America with no connection to Australia.

That he's legally an Australian Citizen is not at question. (Although many countries disallow citizenship under similar circumstances.)
It's also not at question that he's an American citizen, of American ancestry, and was raised as an American.

You don't even have heritage. Great, and Great-great grandparents? Pffft... That is meaningless.

See what I did there?

Dazz, by some definitions, heritage means what is part of someone and what matters to them. How or why you'd even bother judging that, I don't know.

, born overseas and lived overseas the last few years yet a lot want to claim him as Aussie.

We'll claim anyone good tbh. Even if they're a NZer, we can get away with claiming them usually.

Heritage:

The word 'heritage' comes from an old French word meaning ‘something that is passed down from previous generations; a tradition’. It was originally taken to mean property that was handed down by parents to their children, but in more recent times has taken on a much broader definition:

Those things from the past which are valued enough today to save for future generations
"Everywhere has a history and everywhere has a heritage"

History:

The word ‘history’ comes from the Latin word ‘historia’, which means ‘inquiry’, or ‘knowledge gained by investigation’. So ‘history’ is:
‘The discovery, collection, organisation and presentation of information about past of people, places and events‘.

Cultural Heritage:

This is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations. Cultural heritage includes tangible culture (such as buildings, monuments, landscapes, books, works of art, and artifacts), intangible culture (such as folklore, traditions, language, and knowledge), and natural heritage (including culturally significant landscapes, and biodiversity).

Heritage can refer to practices or characteristics that are passed down through the years, from one generation to the next. Researching your family tree would help you gain a sense of your personal heritage.

Heritage is often used to discuss a cultural aspect or tradition that has been passed down through generations. For example, one might speak of an area’s "rich musical heritage.” Heritage can also refer to a person's ethnic or cultural background.

Perhaps you guys are confusing heritage with nationality:

Your nationality is the country you come from: American, Canadian, and Russian are all nationalities.

Everyone has a gender, race, sexual orientation...and a nationality.

A person's nationality is where they are a legal citizen, usually in the country where they were born.

People from Mexico have Mexican nationality, and people from Australia have Australian nationality.

People of the same nationality usually share traditions and customs, and they might look a little alike, too. Nationality is one of many qualities that bring people together.

Of course, these days you can have a National Passport or National Identity with multiple countries, which makes things more about choice rather than originality when it comes down to which country you want to play international sport with.

hey dazz, what year was your cousin born at RAAF bworth?

Not much will be gained going into semantics.

Suffice to say people are free to feel whatever connection they like.

If Kyrie feels much of a connection with Australia then good on him, but i'd say it's more likely to be polite words with less substance.

Seriously, this argument has nothing to do with heritage or even whether Irving feels any connection to Australia or whatever and everything to do with the fact that Irving COULD have qualified and COULD have played for Australia if he chose to do so (putting aside the little problem that he played juniors for the USAB).

Hell, we were more than happy to claim medals won by Bulgarian weightlifters and Russian pole-vaulters, of course we would accept Irving if he had chosen to play for us. He didn't so be it. He might have, and probably would have if there was a crop of other American PGs in front of him for US selection. That doesn't mean that the what if's are not fun to discuss.

What's "this argument" that you speak of? The discussion is clearly a flow on from ME saying thst Irving is treating his Aussie birth as a gimmick.

You can reframe the discussion around a different slant to the topic if you so desire but don't say the topic has nothing to do with what was being discussed because clearly it had everything to do with it.

Plus we already know Irving could have chosen to play for Australia if he wanted to, so at this point you're just stunting the discussion and stating the obvious.

Touchy. I have a problem with people trying to define who they say are or can be Australian. He either legally is or he isn't, and no one cannot strip him of that right whether he is using it as a gimmick or not.

He clearly associates most closely in his heart as American, and why wouldn't he. But why should he be called out for exploring or even taking advantage of all of his options? I have a passport that lets me work throughout Europe, even though I consider myself Australian. Do I need to give my dual citizenship up because I am treating it as a gimmick?

I don't think I was stunting your conversation when it took you half a week to respond.

Nobody is saying who is/isn't, can/cannot be Australian or how people with an Australian passport/citizenship/whatever else decides to use it. I don't know where you're getting this from?

This isn't a "you're unAustralian" or "what it takes to be Australian" topic.

The legal aspect is irrelevant to the discussion taking place. He's not even being called out for exploring options.

The discussion is about how genuine Irving's words are about being an Australian at heart/wanting to play here.

He could have been genuine, or it could have been an off the cuff comment that he wasn't all that serious about.

ME's argument was 'action speaks louder than words' ie why isn't he playing for Boomers, indicating Irving is probably being a bit theatrical in his comments. Others replied maybe he has a place in his heart for both, look at the effect of heritage on many Australians who identify strongly with other nationalities. The other argument being, it's Team USA, you're going to get a gold medal - why wouldn't you join if given the opportunity? A counter response was, well he doesn't really have heritage or connection apart from being physically born in Australia before leaving two years later - so is he really genuine?