The Kyrie Irving-LeBron James relationship wasn’t the smoothest of all after certain differences drifted the players apart. They spent three years together in Cleveland, winning one NBA championship in three Finals trips.
Rumors suggest that Kyrie didn’t want to play in the shadow of LeBron, which led to a trade request from the Cavs in 2017. If you think about it, the narrative of James being a father figure to Irving was always around on the media. Knowing Kyrie’s close relationship with his father, this sequence must have been very annoying.
In 2015, the talented point guard received an awkward question about his relationship with Bron and how the King became a father for him and the rest of the team.
Reporter: “The other day after the Bulls game Tristan called LeBron a great father. What type of parental role has LeBron played for you and your teammates?”
Irving looked a little confused after hearing that but still had a polite response.
Kyrie: “Parental role? I don’t know if I can really answer that question. He’s been a great leader for us. I have one father, it’s my dad Drederick Irving. But for us, in terms of learning the nuances of the game and how to win, how to carry ourselves on and off the court, he’s been a really great influence in that role.”
Six years after that moment, it’d be interesting to ask the reporter what she was thinking when asking this question. It’s not like Kyrie was an orphan and was desperately looking for a father figure.
LeBron is only seven years older than him. Regardless of how many championships he won and how accomplished he was, that doesn’t mean he must adopt every player and try to be their father.
Kyrie was shocked after that question, but he kept it cool and delivered a great response. Still, his face could tell that he wasn’t comfortable with that type of question.
