Kyrie Irving said that he received a cortisone shot on December 24th in an attempt to delay or eliminate the possibility of having shoulder surgery.

"The next step in any progression was to either get a cortisone shot or to get surgery. That was the ultimatum I was fixed with. Now, I'm just doing the best I can to live off this cortisone and move forward if I need surgery in the future," said Irving in a press conference.

Irving spoke to reporters for the first time since injuring his shoulder in mid-November.

Irving added that he will continue to monitor his shoulder and re-evaluate his options, which could involve surgery. 

"A cortisone shot lasts as long as it can. You either continue to get cortisone shots, which is obviously detrimental to your health and your muscles, or you go get arthroscopic surgery For me, it's just about being able to go back out there after the right amount of rehab, the right amount of rest and recovery and see what we can do for the rest of the season and then reevaluate after a few months."