THE difference four years makes.

Kyrie Irving was seriously considering an offer to represent Australia, his country of birth, at the London Olympics and declared himself at the time “an Australian at heart”.

This week, he will form an integral part of Team USA as they look to take down the Boomers in Rio.

“I was very serious, man,” Irving said this week when asked how close he was to joining the Boomers in 2012.

“(Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski) was a huge part of the decision. I mean, he’s Coach K. As a young fella, he definitely did tell me I had a chance to be a part of something bigger than myself and ultimately being the starting point guard on the US Olympic team. I never thought it would happen as soon as it has.

“It’s crazy to see how it has worked out.”

THE BOOMERS’ 2012 APPROACH TO IRVING

Irving was born in Melbourne in 1992 while his father, Drederick, was representing the Bulleen Boomers in the South East Australian Basketball League.

Drederick returned the family to the US when Kyrie was two. The younger Irving retained his Australian passport and remained on the watchlist of Boomers scouts.

The Australians made their move in 2012. Irving, who had represented the US at junior level, was offered the chance to join the Boomers for the London Games. He was 19 at the time.

“It was a great opportunity and 2016 is a while away, that’s all I’m going to say,” Irving said at the time.

“It would have been great to go play with guys like Andrew (Bogut), if he was healthy, and Patty (Mills) in London.

“I’d like to be part of the culture here, do something special for Australian basketball.”

In a separate interview, Irving said: “I’m Aussie born and I consider myself an Aussie.”

HOW THE NEGOTIATIONS WENT DOWN

Brett Brown, now the coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, led the Australian recruitment drive.

The pitch was straight forward: represent the Boomers and play in four Olympic Games.

“Brett thought we were a legitimate chance to secure him,” Wayne Carroll, at the time GM of high performance at Basketball Australia, told foxsports.com.au.

“Brett was coaching Kyrie’s dad when Kyrie was born and was keeping track of him at high school when few people outside of New Jersey in the US knew anything about him.

“I was there to support Brett. I remember contacting Kyrie’s family to say that if he chose to play for Australia, he could be playing in four - and maybe more - Olympics. Even now, when you look at the strength of the NBA, it’s conceivable Irving might not make the national team if everyone was available.”

Carroll recalls several factors that conspired against the Boomers’ bid to recruit Irving.

“The fact he went to Duke where Coach K was coaching didn’t help,” he said. “Coach K obviously has a strong association with the USA national program. Many college coaches don’t.

“It was also going to be a complicated process after he represented the USA at junior level. But it was a discussion we thought was worth having and we did our best to bring him to Australia.

“The discussions with Kyrie and his family were legit. He considered playing for Australia and thought it was a genuine option.”

Larry Sengstock, the then-chief executive of Basketball Australia, concurred.

“It was something we needed to explore,” he said. “There was some scepticism at the time that he was in (NBA) draft mode and trying to create some noise - and we copped it on social media - but that’s not how we saw it.

“Brett had followed him for a long time and believed we needed to try and get him on board with us.”

THE COACH K INFLUENCE

As the Boomers feared, Krzyzewski was instrumental in convincing Irving to represent the USA on the international stage - something he opened up on this week in Rio.

“He had a choice,” Krzyzewski said this week. “I just wanted him to always think of the very best that could happen for him and obviously playing for the United States and maybe being the starting guard on the Olympic team, that’s the highest. And he had the capability of doing that. I knew that at a young age.

“But it wasn’t like you had to put any pressure on him. I think he just needed to know that once you make the decision, then that’s the country you’re going to play for.”

He added: “I’m glad that he decided to do that.”

At the time to his decision to represent the USA over Australia, Irving spoke of the role Krzyzewski - his coach at Duke - played in determining his international future.

“I’m still an Australian at heart, but it was just a family decision for me, and about my longevity in the game,” Irving said in 2012.

“It was a decision that was tough one, because you have a chance to create your own legacy, and create something special, and to be a part of something big.

He added: “It was the right decision. I found out Coach K would be coaching (Team USA) in 2016. It made my decision so much easier to play for my coach again. That was the deciding factor.”

Irving has since claimed a World Cup gold medal for Team USA in 2014. In the NBA, his stardom reached huge new levels this season when he played an instrumental role in taking the Cleveland Cavaliers to a drought-breaking title - including his clutch three-pointer at the death in Game 7 against the Golden State Warriors.

KYRIE VS DELLY

Irving will be confronted by a familiar foe when the USA take on the Boomers in Thursday morning’s Pool A clash in Rio.

Matthew Dellavedova, with whom Irving won an NBA championship just ring two months ago, was in brilliant form for the Boomers against Serbia scoring 23 points and contributing 13 assists and steals in 29 minutes.

“Just like I should be worried about him, he should be worried about me,” Irving said this week of his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate. “It goes both ways. He’s a great defender as well, but my job is to win the basketball game for the U.S. and I’m going to do everything possible to do that. So when we step on the floor, there’s no friendships. That goes out the window automatically.”

Krzyzewski was similarly wary of the threat posed by the Boomers.

“They have great camaraderie and they’re talented,”he said. “They’re all NBA players so they understand what it is to play against our guys.

“Australian basketball is terrific. I’m sure they see a lot of things they can do against us because they’re a good team. They can beat us. We know that, and we’ll prepare accordingly.”

The Boomers have lost by 18, 40 and 33 points in their last three tournament games against the USA in 1998, 2006 and 2012 respectively.

The USA entered the Rio Olympics ranked first in the world compared to Australia’s 11th, however the Boomers have already turned heads by defeating the fifth ranked French and sixth ranked Serbians at these Games.

Of Australia’s starting five, four boast NBA championship rings.

IRVING’S PROMISE TO PLAY IN AUSTRALIA

Irving might have pledged his international allegiance to the USA but, while visiting Australia in 2013, declared his intention to play in his country of birth at the back end of his career.

“I feel that when I’m done playing in the NBA the first place to come would be Australia,” Irving said at the time.

“Just to experience it and have more people come to the game and have an NBA player just be here, I think it would help the sport a lot.

“I would probably just play a few games if anything but the end of my career is a while away but Australia would be the first place I would play if I played overseas.”