Kyrie Irving is one of the best late-game shot-makers in NBA history. The 2016 Finals may have been six years ago, but his game-winning three over Steph Curry will be remembered for generations for what it signifies. Irving’s reputation as a clutch shooter isn’t lost on him at all.
During the 2020 NBA Orlando bubble, Irving had made a comment about playing with Kevin Durant after he sat out the 2019-20 season and said this is the first time he has felt that one of his teammates can make the same tough shots at the end of a game as he does.
Naturally, this was taken as a sly diss to LeBron James. Even LBJ was hurt after the comments, as he revealed the same after his Lakers won the championship on Richard Jefferson’s show ‘Road Trippin’. Irving has finally addressed those comments and said he has a ton of respect for James and he would never slight ‘The King’.
Kyrie on LeBron being hurt by Irving’s last-shot comments:
“Shout out to LeBron. I would never slight him. I respect the hell out of him, and we've been through our own battles as teammates, as competitors together. That's like water under the bridge."
(via The ETCS Podcast) pic.twitter.com/yRsGDJiXmf
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 10, 2022
Kyrie and LeBron have a better relationship now as compared to when their association as teammates ended. The 2016 season was the only year Irving won a championship and the struggles of getting back there have been evident. Irving hasn’t even gone back to the NBA Finals.
Irving allegedly apologized to LeBron in early 2019 for the manner in which Kyrie forced his way out of Cleveland. The pair seemed to have squashed any bad feelings then, which is why Irving believes their past disagreements are ‘water under the bridge’ today.
LeBron has proven what he had to on the court by winning a championship after those comments. Considering how much hate and disrespect NBA players receive, it isn’t surprising that Bron and Kyrie would have settled these comments between them. Both players are veterans of different conferences, so holding on to drama from years ago would be detrimental to both.
