Getty Kyrie Irving told ESPN Monday morning that he never told former teammate LeBron James that he wanted to leave Cleveland
Brooklyn Nets point guard, Kyrie Irving created a stir back in October when some believed that he took a swipe at LeBron James.
This is the first time in my career I can look down and be like…that motherf***er can make that shot too,” Irving told Kevin Durant on his Podcast.
“Why must it always be brother against brother? Why? If I’m addressing anyone, I’ll say their name.”
Kyrie denies taking shots at LeBron after his comments on KD’s podcast
Irving later took to social media and shared that he wasn’t dissing James. “Why must it always be brother against brother,” Irving said in a video.
“Why? If I’m addressing anyone, I’ll say their name.”
Well, James said Irving’s name.
Damn… @kingjames addresses Kyrie’s statements made during the NBA Finals. SUBSCRIBE to get it when it drops @RoadTrippinPod @channingfrye @RealAClifton ✊🏾✊🏾. t.co/3t6kFNCOC4
Appearing on the Road Trippin Podcast, James addressed the issue with Richard Jefferson. “So when I heard the comment that Kyrie made, I wanted to not only, one find the whole transcript, but also call my people, [have them] send me the whole transcript,” James told Richard Jefferson.
“And I heard that he did it on KD’s podcast. I was a little like, ‘damn.’ Once I got the whole transcript, I was like ‘damn.’ You know, I wasn’t like: ‘Oh you trippin’ I hit game winning shots my whole life.’ I was not like that. I was like: ‘Damn.’ Because you were there for a couple of seasons, I mean, I played with Kyrie for three seasons. The whole time while I was there, I only wanted to see him be an MVP of our league. 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.”
Irving and LeBron James won a championship together as members of the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers.
Irving was Cleveland’s first pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.James re-joined the Cavs after his stint with the Miami Heat where he won two NBA Championships with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Irving was running things in Cleveland while James was gone.
In an interview with high school teammate Jeremiah Green this past spring, Irving shared that he and James actually connected in a meeting of the minds during the 2011 NBA Finals where James’ Heat played the Dallas Mavericks.
“I was at the 2011 Finals when Dallas played Miami,” said Irving.
“I was actually doing like a little mini internship before I got drafted. I had met Bron around that time, as well as in high school, so we had a close relationship then and it was strictly about transferring knowledge. You know, like what does this level look like for you? And I saw it upclose. I got a chance to see it up close and it inspired me. Obviously Miami lost that year, Dallas won on a really really miraculous playoff run. Bron played well, D-Wade played well, it was just very challenging and I learned a lot from that. Then they went on to win back to back championships after that. And you come into the league during that time and they’re just dominating everything. Then you get a chance to play with Bron on that same team? At that level? You better believe if that shot comes to me, I’m going to be ready to take it.”