LeBron James and Kyrie Irving were once star teammates in Cleveland, leading the Cavs to their greatest period of success in franchise history.
But after just three years together, Irving forced himself out — and his relationship with Bron hasn’t been the same since.
Over the past month, the former teammates have been exchanging blows, which started when Kyrie Irving said his new teammate, Kevin Durant, is the only guy he has trusted to take big, clutch shots late in games.
Kyrie says playing with KD is the first time he's been able to defer late in games 👀
(via @boardroom | @boardroompods) pic.twitter.com/qkJG5L9o2y
— ESPN (@espn) October 1, 2020
It took LeBron a while to respond but, when he finally did, his disappointment was evident.
“The whole time while I was there (in Cleveland), I only wanted to see him be the MVP of our league,” James said about Irving. “I only cared about his success, and it just didn’t align. It just didn’t align, and we was able to win a championship. That’s the craziest thing. 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.”
So, it has become quite obvious that the dynamic between James and Irving has fallen off quite a bit since their title run in 2016. But why? What was it that put a wedge between them?
In light of the current situation, a former Cavs teammate who was around during the LeBron/Kyrie era recently shed some light on the situation, revealing where things may have gone wrong.
“Because Kyrie started to see that special treatment that he never got, said Brendan Haywood on IG live. “Randy Mims gets to fly on the team plane; this is ‘Bron’s best friend?… He gets to team meetings?“
Kyrie Irving saw LeBron James get 'special treatment' that he never got during Cavaliers days says @bwood_33 while on Instagram Live w/ @TheRyanHollins – https://t.co/0GsM9T324L
"Randy Mims gets to fly on the team plane; this is ‘Bron’s best friend?"
Story Via @HeavySan pic.twitter.com/G3YYiKWfsH
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) December 9, 2020
It’s easy to forget now, but there was a time when Kyrie was the “chosen one” for the Cavaliers. Before LeBron’s arrival, Irving was their guy for years. Apparently, when Bron signed in 2014, it came with special privileges that not even Irving enjoyed. That clearly rubbed him the wrong way.
Needless to say, it would play a role in his eventual departure and, years later, a scent of disdain still lingers between them.
Looks like the “Kings” royal treatment can come with some nasty side effects.
