Sports

Kyrie Irving Goes Viral in Pepsi Commercial

Hometown kid makes moves on basketball courts in Bloomfield as an "old man"

Even as an old man, hometown kid Kyrie Irving looks like he will not lose a step in his game—at least that is the way it seems in a new Pepsi Max commercial. 

Reigning Rookie of the Year in the NBA, Irving, who grew up in West Orange and played basketball at Montclair Kimberley Academy, has gone viral in a new television advertisement shot as a “documentary” on the basketball courts in nearby Bloomfield.

In the commercial, Irving attends a late night basketball game at Clark’s Pond in Bloomfield, dressed as a paunchy old man, complete with white hair and beard. With his new persona as Uncle Drew, Irving is a curmudgeon with nothing but contempt for how the youth of today approach the game of basketball. 

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Well, Irving gets his chance to show them a few moves when one of the basketball players gets injured. His nephew in the commercial, Kevin, calls on him to fill in. 

As of Tuesday, May 29, the YouTube video, which was written and directed by Irving, had more than 6.5 million hits. 

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Irving attended Duke University, in Durham, N.C., and played basketball there during the 2010-11 school year. After sitting out 26 games during the season with a toe injury, Irving entered the 2011 NBA Draft and was picked No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. 


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