LeBron James’ departure from the Cavaliers in 2010 was a devastating blow to the organization, the fanbase, and the city of Cleveland as a whole. LeBron, a Cleveland native, had taken their NBA franchise to new heights, and he was now suddenly leaving them for the Miami Heat. LeBron was the “Chosen One” who was supposed to deliver a championship to the city, but he had failed in his quest, and the prodigal son was taking his talents to South Beach.
LeBron’s jerseys were burned in Cleveland, and owner Dan Gilbert released a scathing statement in which he called LeBron’s decision to leave a “cowardly betrayal”. Once all of this was said and done, though, the Cavaliers fell apart during the 2010-11 season. A team that had won over 60 games in each of LeBron’s final two seasons won just 19 games and finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference.
Thanks to some lottery balls going their way, the Cavaliers did manage to land the first pick of the 2011 NBA Draft, and with it, they drafted Kyrie Irving, who was to be the new savior of the franchise. There is always a lot of pressure on anyone who gets selected with the first pick, but this was a situation unlike any other.
Kyrie Irving On The Pressure On Him To Replace LeBron James In Cleveland
Kyrie felt all that pressure on him, too, as one can imagine, and he struggled to deal with it. He was making an appearance on the latest episode of The Shop, where he spoke about what it was like for him as a 19-year-old to come to this emotionally charged city that was desperate for a savior.
(starts at 30:12 mark):
“I was watching the 30 for 30 on The Decision (and) a year later, I was drafted. Into that Cleveland emotional train. The Prodigal Son, the Chosen One has left. And here we have this 19-year-old kid. I’m 6’2. I’m not jumping out of the gym. Emotionally I was dealing with things that had nothing to do with me. So when I took on that pressure as my own, I started feeling like ‘I got to bring Cleveland back to the promised land.’ That’s a solo act.”
One can only imagine what that might have been like for a teenager, and to his credit, Kyrie performed exceptionally well on the court. He won Rookie of the Year in 2012, and in just his second season in the league, he became an All-Star.
For all the success on an individual level, Kyrie wasn’t able to elevate the team as a whole, but that changed with LeBron returning to Cleveland in 2014. Together the two of them would win the title in 2016 as they stunned the 73-win Warriors in the NBA Finals by coming back from down 3-1. During this episode, Kyrie also spoke about the pressure of playing with LeBron and his current teammate Kevin Durant.
