Kyrie Irving is one of the most talented NBA stars of the modern era and will be remembered as a generation-defining point guard. However, his life hasn’t been easy.

The success Kyrie has enjoyed in the NBA is something he’s often credited to his father, Drederick Irving. Comedian Bruce Fine, who knows Drederick’s entire life story, shared the same on The Jamie Kennedy show.

Fine is from Boston but has found most of his career’s success in Los Angeles. He studied at Boston University and graduated in 1989 alongside Drederick Irving. Fine and Irving were friends and the comedian narrated Dredrick’s tumultuous life story while also highlighting how those experiences ultimately impacted the life of his son, Kyrie Irving.

“A friend of mine was on the basketball team. His name is Drederick. Highest scorer in the history of BU (Boston University) when we graduate. We graduate and only 3 NBA teams look at him. I move out to LA, I come back, Drederick walks in wearing a Hertz rent-a-car shirt and my heart dropped. That was the first time I realized that in life, sometimes things don’t work out.”

Drederick Irving was a beast at the NCAA level, playing 4 seasons of Division 1 basketball for Boston University. Outside of his freshman season, where he averaged just 6.4 points, Drederick was a star point guard during his time there. From his sophomore to senior season, Irving averaged 18.9 points and had great touch when it came to shooting 3s, shooting 43.2% on 4.5 attempts in his final season.

Irving’s failure to make it to the NBA didn’t deter him, as he would take up opportunities in Australia, as Fine narrated.

“I saw it with my friend and I was like ‘Wow’. He’s like, ‘yeah, I’m working for Hertz. I didn’t get picked up by any teams and I might go play in Australia. He goes to Australia, with the same girlfriend from BU, and he marries her. He’s playing in Australia and has a daughter and then a son. He’s just playing basketball to pay the bills and keep the dream alive. His wife isn’t feeling well and he gets a phone call that she died in the hospital. That she had a rare disease and she passed away.”

Kyrie’s mother, Elizabeth passed away when Kyrie was 4 years old. The Mavs’ star traces his Native American heritage to his mother, something he sought to reconnect with from his time with the Celtics. Fine continued telling the story of how Kyrie’s father pushed his son to become a basketball player while raising his kids as a single father.

“Through all this, he’s teaching his son basketball. His son starts playing very well and he’s like, let me move to New Jersey, New York where I can get him into programs like LeBron’s at St. John High or whatever. He gets his son into a good basketball program and he takes a job at Reuters, which is in the World Trade Center. His son started to get good at basketball and one day he walks into work at 8:57 into the building’s lobby. In 2001, when the plane hit the building. He survives. He gets out of the building and gets reunited with his children.”

Drederick Irving is among the lucky survivors of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001. Kyrie was about 9 years old when this happened, so it must’ve been a very complicated thing to process at that age. This incident is one that even Drederick believes has shaped Kyrie into the person he is today. Drederick maneuvered across falling steel beams to get back to his family to ensure his children won’t be orphaned. He also remained integral in Kyrie’s journey of fulfilling Drederick’s dream of playing in the NBA, something he sought to do even harder after the horrific tragedy that was 9/11. Fine elaborated on Kyrie’s basketball journey and how his father’s reputation helped him get into the iconic Duke Blue Devils program.

“His son ends up going from high school, he starts to get interest from colleges. He goes with his son to see Coach K at Duke. They walk into the office for the meeting and on the TV is Drederick playing for BU against Duke in 1988, our senior year. We were ahead at halftime and almost pulled an upset in the tournament, but Drederick played great. His son is like, blown away that Coach K even remembers his dad. He said, ‘listen, a lot of kids are interested in coming to Duke. But if you are anything like that man I remember competing against, if your character is like his, Duke wants you. So he goes to Duke and gets hurt, but he comes back to the tournament and takes them all the way to like the Final Four. Then, he gets drafted by the NBA and he ends up living the dream his father couldn’t. My friend Drederick’s son is Kyrie Irving.”