Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving has backed away ever so slightly from his much-publicised comments this week that the Earth is flat.
Australian-born Irving first made the remarks on a podcast and then discussed them again at the NBA's All-Star weekend - where they have become the talk of New Orleans.
But he refused to repeat the assertion when reporters tried to pin him down on whether he truly believes it.
"Out of all the podcast, that's what you took out of it, the flat Earth?" Irving said.
"The fact that it's a social phenomenon, that (I) think the world is flat, is hilarious. ... does it matter to you that I believe the world is flat?"
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Irving stated that, in his opinion, "It really doesn't matter."
Then he added, "The fact that it's a conversation, I'm glad it got people talking like this."
Irving got some support from Golden State's Draymond Green.
"It's just his opinion," Green said. "It's hard to call someone's opinions crazy. That's what he thinks."
Told that there is photo evidence that the Earth is in fact round, Green offered this response: "Who's to say that picture is telling the truth? ... I'm not saying I think it's flat. I don't know. But it could be."
LeBron James was so amused by the flat-Earth talk that he yelled over to Irving during an interview session on Saturday.
"Kyrie, the earth is flat, right?" James shouted.
"Yeah," came the reply from Irving.
"That's news," James said. "So there we go."
