Getty Image
LeBron James has finally reacted to Kyrie Irving’s “clutch” comments from last year.
Kyrie, who once forced a trade out of Cleveland because he wanted to get out from under LeBron’s shadow, made headlines when his appearance on Kevin Durant’s podcast went viral after he said Durant is the first teammate he feels he can trust with taking a shot down the stretch.
Kyrie says playing with KD is the first time he's been able to defer late in games 👀
(via @boardroom | @boardroompods) pic.twitter.com/qkJG5L9o2y
— ESPN (@espn) October 1, 2020
"I felt like I was the best option on every team I’ve played for down the stretch. This is the first time in my career where I can be like 'that motherf*cker can make that shot too.'"
-Kyrie Irving on KD
(🎥 @boardroompods )— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) October 1, 2020
While on Richard Jefferson’s Road Trippin’ podcast, LeBron admitted he took offense to Kyrie’s comment and wasn’t entirely sure why his former teammate would take a shot at him.
Damn… @kingjames addresses Kyrie’s statements made during the NBA Finals. SUBSCRIBE to get it when it drops @RoadTrippinPod @channingfrye @RealAClifton ✊🏾✊🏾. https://t.co/3t6kFNCOC4 pic.twitter.com/KcHfjqkf91
— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) December 8, 2020
It kinda hurt me a little bit,”
“I was a little like, damn. Once I got the whole transcript I was like, damn. I wasn’t like, ‘ohh you tripping I been making shots my whole life […] the whole time I was there [on the Cavs] 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.”
Kyrie went on to deny that he intended to take a shot at his former teammate but it appears that LeBron doesn’t believe him.