From left: Lebron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.Photo: Daniel Boczarski/Getty; Steve Granitz/WireImage; Noam Galai/WireImage
Not all is well between former teammatesLeBron Jamesand Kyrie Irving.
While they seemed to be on good terms in recent years — Irving evenadmitted to calling James to apologizefor his behavior during their time together on the Cavaliers — their relationship fell into the spotlight once again after Irving appeared onTheETCspodcast with his Brooklyn Nets teammate, Kevin Durant, in September. During the show, Irving seemed to give a veiled criticism of James while complimenting Durant.
“One thing I’ve always been comfortable with, I felt like I was the best option on every team I played for down the stretch,” Irving said of being a go-to with games on the line. “This is the first time in my career I’ve looked down [the court] and be like, ‘That motherf—er can make that shot too.’ And he’ll probably do it a lot easier.”
“It’s not so much deferring, because in past situations where I didn’t take the last shot, I felt guilty,” Irving said. “I want this game-winning shot, but also, you want to trust your teammates. Not that I didn’t trust my teammates, but I felt like I was the best option.”
“Once I got the whole transcript, I was like, ‘damn,'” James said of his reaction. “I wasn’t like, ‘Oh, you tripping, I’ve been hitting game-winning shots my whole life.’ I was not like that. I was like, ‘Damn.’ Because I played with Kyrie for three seasons, and the whole time I was [in Cleveland], I only wanted to see him be the MVP of our league. I only cared about his success, and it just didn’t align.”
“And we was able to win a championship, that’s the craziest thing,” he continued. “We were still able to win a championship, and we could never align, but I only cared about his well being, both on and off the floor. And it kind of hurt me a little bit.”
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James went on to say Irving was “one most talented players I’ve ever played with in my life,” and recalled the excitement one of his sons felt when he announced he was teaming up with the young point guard after leaving the Miami Heat in 2014.
“You talk openly. You talk freely. But because we live in a clickbait society, it becomes something bigger. You don’t have to defend it,” he said at the time, according toESPN. “That’s just what media is. … It’s entertainment. I’m not going to let it put me against anybody anymore at any point. Because that’s not what it’s about. … Don’t have to put me against anyone else! It’s never been about that. It’s about the love.”
source: people.com
