It’s been almost two months since Kyrie Irving made comments on Kevin Durant’s podcast with Eddie Gonzales, “The Etcs,” which could have easily been taken as a slight at LeBron James, about how Durant gave him another great late-game option other than himself for the “first time.” Now we finally have an answer to how LeBron took those comments from Irving back in early October: it hurt him a little bit.
During a two-part interview on the Road Trippin’ podcast with Allie Clifton, Richard Jefferson, and Channing Frye, in which the wine and tequila were flowing, James addressed the comments Irving made for the first time.
“I was a little like, ‘Damn.’ Once I got the whole transcript, I was like, ‘Damn,'” James said. “I wasn’t like, ‘Oh, you trippin’. I’ve hit game-winning shots my whole life.’ I was not like that. I was like, ‘Damn.’ Because … I played with Kyrie for three seasons. The whole time when I was there (in Cleveland), I only wanted to see him be a MVP of our league. I only cared about his success. And it just didn’t align. It just didn’t align. And we were 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.”
James said he asked to get a full transcript of the podcast before making his judgment. In public, it has appeared that James and Irving were generally on better terms after a few years apart, but it’s clear that the recent comments from Irving did at least sting. However, Irving is with Durant now and both will be trying to beat LeBron and Anthony Davis this season.
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