In three years, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving achieved great things together. They led the Cavs to three straight Finals appearances and helped the team capture what is, arguably, the greatest championship win of all time.
Behind the scenes, you might be surprised to learn that it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Irving left Cleveland for reasons that are still not clear, but his ex-teammate LeBron James wasn’t a fan of Irving’s behavior anyway.
According to Alex Schiffer, Sam Amick, and Joe Vardon of The Athletic, it was Uncle Drew’s immaturity that really caught King James off guard.
“As for LeBron and the Lakers, where this whole conversation began, Irving privately and publicly apologized to James for being such a pain in the rear towards him when they were in Cleveland together,” wrote Vardon. “There were all kinds of resentment from Kyrie and his camp toward LeBron, and James was blown away by Irving’s immaturity. But James has always respected Kyrie’s game and he knows how good of a pairing they are together. LeBron knows he needs playmakers and shooters around him — Russ (Russell Westbrook) is kind of neither now; certainly isn’t the latter — and I, to this day, do not get why LeBron thought Westbrook would be a good pairing for him.”
Clearly, Kyrie’s exit from Cleveland rubbed people the wrong way, including LeBron. No matter how you feel about James or Irving, it’s impossible to deny that his exit could have been handled better. He literally gave up on the Cavs, and they didn’t really stand a chance without him.
It’s surprising that after everything, James was open to a reunion with Irving. Maybe Bron decided he would rather have Kyrie than Russ.
Whatever the case, nobody will forget Irving’s history in the NBA and the way he cut ties with many of the people who helped him achieve so much success.
