Veterans Day may be over, but Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving knows military appreciation is important year-round.

That’s why following his team’s 109-102 win over the Brooklyn Nets, Irving  peeled off his jersey and his shoes to give them to two military personnel who waited for him courtside.

As you can see in the video, the U.S. soldiers were beyond thrilled with the gesture. Irving, who suffered a minor facial fracture in Friday night’s game came back to put up 25 points and five assists in the Celtics’ 13th straight win, then shook hands and thanked the service members.

“Oh my God!” one of the soldiers screamed. “Thank you so much!”

 

 

The shoes he so graciously handed off weren’t just any game day shoes. They were custom-designed by Nike and the Sneaker Room to give a shoutout “to all the moms out there.”

 

 

Irving lost his mother when he was 4 years old due to Sepsis Syndrome. Now 25, he still misses his mom every day.

“I love my mother and it’s still hard to this day, especially when I was filling out forms,” he said in a video for The Shared Grief Project. “You know, my father’s name and, you know, his cell phone number and emergency contact and then right next to it would be mother and that has been blank since I was 4.”

Irving and his older sister, Asia, were raised by their father, Drederick, in Newark before the basketball star attended Duke and then became the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Irving was being praised for stellar play in the road win, especially because he had to wear an uncomfortable facial mask. But, the most impactful play he made Tuesday night came in form of taking time out of his day to recognize those who fight for our freedom.

No doubt about it. It was an act of kindness his mom would certainly approve of.