According to Celtics guard Kyrie Irving his career won’t be lasting anywhere near as long as Vince Carters’.

Carter surpassed the 25,000-point barrier in Wednesday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors. 

Irving, 26, passed the 10,000-point barrier last Friday, also against Toronto, back in Boston. But he said his rationale behind wanting to be done with his career far sooner than Carter is not because of a lack of desire to play basketball for that long, but because of all that comes with life as an NBA star away from the court.

“Being an NBA player, this is a dream I’ve had since I was a kid. I think everything else that comes with it doesn’t hold the same stature it once did.

He added that he would like people looking in at him and other players from the outside to appreciate the amount of work and effort they put into perfecting their craft, and some of the stress that creates.

“I would say, I don’t want to go into major detail, but I would just say I wish there was sometimes more empathy in terms of what we’ve committed ourselves to doing every single day. Putting our bodies on the line, understanding kind of the mental strain you put on just trying to be great every single day, and just literally putting the ball in the hoop better than you did yesterday. It comes at a price, but it’s what we all signed up [for], and it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to take for as long as possible in order to win as many championships and be as successful as I can.

“I just think the material gain in it just doesn’t really matter to me anymore as much as it once did. The little things are just what make the game special. Coming every single day and playing with these guys, and still try to figure out what that challenge is to be better as a basketball player rather than like, ‘What’s my popularity like?’ or ‘What branding could be done here?’ or something like that. That all comes, but I think the love of the game should always outshine everything else that comes with the NBA lifestyle.”

If only everyone could think about retirement from their profession at such a young age. I think it’ll be easier said than done. 

When you love the game, it’s an addiction. 

One that’s extremely difficult to kick.