While NBA star Kyrie Irving is one of the biggest basketball stars in the world, not everyone knows who he is. Irving was recently filming the movie Uncle Drew, in which he played an old basketball player who is convinced by his friend to take part in a streetball tournament. While the 26-year-old Boston Celtics player was the star on the set as well, it turns out that his co-star Tiffany Haddish didn’t have any idea about who he is.
“When I came to work the first day, they all took pictures with me and stuff,” – Haddish told The Hollywood Reporter referring to the former NBA players who also starred in the movie like Chris Webber and Reggie Miller. “I didn’t realize [Kyrie] was in costume. I was like, ‘Rel, Rel, what is goin’ on with his neck?’ He was like, ‘Tiffany, that’s Kyrie.’ I was like, ‘Who?’ “
Haddish then explained that she isn’t into basketball anymore, and stopped following sports when she got married.
“I stopped paying attention since 2008. ‘Cause I was like, oh I gotta man. Then I got divorced, then I got really busy. So I don’t pay attention to it, it ain’t really my thing,” she said.
Her lack of basketball knowledge didn’t stop Tiffany Haddish from taking the role in Uncle Drew since she liked the script.
“I read the script and — this is kinda corny — but something about it makes me feel really good. It’s like Space Jam or something,” the 38-year-old Girls Trip star added.
Directed by Charles Stone III, Uncle Drew is based on the character of the same name which Kyrie Irving portrayed in the series of Pepsi ads. Besides Irving, the movie stars former NBA players Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber, Reggie Miller, and Nate Robinson alongside former WNBA player Lisa Leslie. The movie is scheduled for release on June 29, 2018.
