Mavs star Kyrie Irving reveals his true feelings about playing with LeBron James

Mavs star Kyrie Irving reveals his true feelings about playing with LeBron James originally appeared on The Sporting News

Many marked Kyrie Irving's departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2017 as a result of wanting the spotlight all for himself rather than playing in LeBron James' shadows. The duo delivered an NBA championship in 2016 and ran it back in 2017, but lost to the Kevin Durant-led Golden State Warriors, 4-1. 

While both players have said nothing of such nature that they don't like playing, some analysts have set the narrative suggesting that this is the case. However, during his recent live stream, Irving set the record straight.

"I would have loved to choose the franchise I wanted to go to," Irving said. "I would have loved to develop next to some of my favorite players... It's not that I dislike playing with [LeBron] at any time. It was just literally my time to move on."

Meanwhile, LeBron has remained fond of the current Dallas Mavericks star. On the Mind the Game podcast, LeBron praised Irving as "the most gifted player the NBA has ever seen."

“I would call Kyrie ‘The Wizard’ all the time. Like, all the time. There was nothing on the basketball floor that Kyrie couldn’t do,” James said in June 2024. “And sitting here watching it, you know, I’m like … so happy and so proud to watch him continue his growth and whatever … but I’m also so ... mad at the same time that I’m not his running mate anymore. So I’m like … I just remember those times. …To have a guy like Kyrie Irving as the ultimate wild card. It’s like having a Draw 4 in your hand every time someone deals you cards in Uno. Like every single time. 

After leaving the Cavs, who drafted him first overall in 2011, Irving joined the Celtics as their new leader. But that partnership didn't last long, and actually, the bitter ending has TD Garden booing Irving to this day.

He joined the Brooklyn Nets and formed a "super team" alongside Kevin Durant and James Harden. But things started to fall apart after the Milwaukee Bucks defeated them in the Eastern Conference finals and the subsequent pandemic.

Finally, he was moved to the Mavs, where he joined forces with Luka Doncic to take the franchise to its first NBA Finals appearance since 2011. With Doncic being traded away, he has once again become the main face of a franchise. Only time can tell if he can win his second NBA title in the near future.