LeBron James said he was ‘hurt’ by Kyrie Irving’s comments on finally having a closer

The beef continues.

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving have never truly been on the same page. That was clear when they played together and it’s become even more clear today.

Earlier this year on Kevin Durant’s podcast, Irving said he was excited to finally play with the first teammate in his career that he can trust in the clutch. He was talking about finally playing with Durant.

Of course, he’s also played with LeBron James who most people still regard as the best player in the game today and the best player in the league for the last decade or so.

So, naturally, Irving’s comments ruffled some feathers. Lots of people were upset about it. That apparently includes James himself.

During a visit to Channing Frye and Richard Jefferson’s Road Trippin’ podcast, James was asked about Irving’s comments and said they “hurt me a little bit.”

“I was a little, like…like ‘damn.’ Once I got the whole transcript I was like ‘damn,’…I was like ‘damn,’ because…I played with Kyrie for three seasons. The whole time I was there, I only wanted to see him be MVP of our league. I only cared about his success. And 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.”

This latest situation is indicative of the constant beef between these two.

James thought Irving had lots of work to do to reach his own level as one of the best players in the world. Irving always thought he was already there. What Irving said about Durant’s ability in the clutch — and what he didn’t say about James’ — shows us that.

This is an understandable reaction from James, who did support Irving and say he wanted him to be an MVP with the Cavaliers.

But his leadership style just didn’t click with Irving.  He seemed to want to be a mentor to him, but that often came through patronizing moments like the time James lectured Irving for not registering an assist in a game where he scored 34 points.

Still, though, that’s ancient history. And these two were successful together in ways other duos could never be. Hopefully, at some point, they peace this up.