Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving is an American basketball player who plays point guard for the NBA team the Dallas Mavericks. He started his NBA career playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers between 2011 and 2017 before moving to the Boston Celtics for two years. He joined the Brooklyn Nets in 2019 before transferring to the Dallas Mavericks in 2023. He has a number of impressive accolades to his name including winning the NBA Championship in 2016 and being voted the NBA All-Star Game’s MVP in 2014.

Why Kyrie Irving is vegan

Kyrie Irving is vegan for health.

Irving switched to a plant-based diet in 2017 after watching the documentary What the Health, and he credits the change for a 13 game winning streak.¹Haberstroh, T. 2017. The Secret (but Healthy!) Diet Powering Kyrie and the NBA. Available: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2744130-the-secret-but-healthy-diet-powering-kyrie-and-the-nba [Accessed 8 May 2021]. Irving was voted Most Beautiful Vegan Celebrity alongside Alex Morgan in 2019.²Peta. 2019. PETA Crowns Top Athletes as Most Beautiful Vegan Celebrities of 2019. Available: https://www.peta.org/features/peta-crowns-most-beautiful-vegan-celebrities-2019/ [Accessed 8 May 2021]. During the 2024 NBA playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks flew in a private chef for Irving to provide him with vegan meals during Ramadam.³courtsidebuzzig. 2024. Instagram post. Available: https://www.instagram.com/p/C4vsnC0u-I8/ [Accessed 16 September 2026].

“Been on more of a plant-based diet, getting away from the animals and all that… I had to get away from that. So my energy is up; my body feels amazing… I don’t plan on changing anything in my diet. It’s working out great so far.”⁴Yang, N. 2017. Kyrie Irving says going vegan has improved his play. Boston.com. Available: https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2017/11/15/kyrie-irving-vegan-diet-improved-play/ [Accessed 16 September 2026].