Irving: Basketball 'not the most important thing to me right now'

Kyrie Irving said his focus isn't entirely on basketball as the Brooklyn Nets prepare for their final regular-season game and upcoming playoff campaign.

Irving didn't respond to basketball-related questions following Saturday's 105-91 win over the Chicago Bulls, instead highlighting the ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel among other issues that are on the seven-time All-Star's mind.

"I'm not going to lie to you guys, a lot of stuff is going on in this world and basketball is just not the most important thing to me right now," Irving told reporters, according to ESPN. "There's a lot of things going on overseas. All our people are still in bondage across the world, and there's a lot of dehumanization going on."

He added: "I'm very compassionate to it - to all races, all cultures and to see it, to see a lot of people being discriminated against, based on their religion, color of their skin, what they believe in. It's just sad."

Irving, who's been fined multiple times this season for not taking part in mandatory media sessions, often uses his platform to spotlight various social justice issues.

"I apologize if I'm not going to be focused on y'all's questions. It's just too much going on in the world for me to just be talking about basketball," Irving said. "I focus on this most of the time, 24/7, but it's just too much going on in this world not to address."

"So if you guys want to ask me questions about the game, I really don't care about it except for everyone leaving out the game healthy and being able to go home to their families," he added.

Irving scored 22 points on Saturday as he, Kevin Durant, and James Harden played together for just the eighth time this campaign. The Nets host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday in their final regular-season game before the playoffs get started on May 22.