Plant-Based Kyrie Irving Scores a Record 50 Points on His Brooklyn Debut

Plant-based point guard Kyrie Irving scored 50 points in his first game for the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, October 23, the most points any NBA player has ever scored on his debut for a new team, NBA.com reports.

Irving put on a show at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves, all dribble moves and impossible finishes. His between-the-legs step-back three put Brooklyn three points up with 1:16 left, but Minnesota forced overtime and won 127-126 after Irving's final spinning shot rolled off. His 50 points also tie him for fourth all-time for points in a season opener.

The New Jersey native signed for Brooklyn as a free agent this summer, and with Kevin Durant out with a torn Achilles, this is his team to lead. He said the night meant a lot:

It just hit me before the game. I wasn't trying to get too emotional or anything like that, but I'm just a Jersey kid playing for his home team. There's nothing like it. This has been brewing since I was in fourth grade.

Irving moved to a mainly plant-based diet ahead of the 2017-18 season with Boston. He explained the change after a preseason game, as reported by Sports Illustrated: "This season I've been on more of a plant-based diet diet, getting away from all the animals and all that. I had to get away from that. My energy is up and my body feels amazing." Two years on, the energy is clearly still there.

We've followed Irving's plant-based journey since Nike put his diet front and center in an advert. He is far from alone in the NBA: vegan center JaVale McGee won back-to-back titles with Golden State, and Chris Paul went plant-based after working on The Game Changers. That film has just become the best-selling documentary in iTunes history.

Fifty points on night one. Powered by plants.