“It’s not that I disliked playing with LeBron” – Kyrie Irving talks about the challenges of playing with LeBron and the alleged disagreements they had originally appeared on Basketball Network.
It’s wild how much the league has changed in just ten years. Today, we live in an era of parity, where for the first time in history, we’ve seen seven different champions in seven consecutive seasons. This year’s Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers shocked many, but also gave us a glimpse of what the next era of basketball might look like.
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Team depth has never been more important, and with that, so have role players. The era of superteams is slowly but surely fading away, but just ten years ago, that wasn’t the case. LeBron James, after a few seasons away, returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers to form a new big three alongside Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
After three straight Finals together, Kyrie decided to part ways with LeBron
Many believed the LeBron-Kyrie duo would dominate for years, but no one could have predicted that the young Golden State Warriors, led by Stephen Curry, would usher in a new pace-and-space era. Those were predictable years, where every fan pretty much knew at the start of the season that we’d see a Warriors vs. Cavaliers Finals. From 2015 to 2018, these two teams went head-to-head in four straight Finals. Despite having a remarkable team on paper, the Cavaliers walked away with just one title, going 1-3. But that one ring will be remembered forever.
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Although LeBron was in his prime and Kyrie was just a 25-year-old entering his prime, after three straight Finals together, Kyrie decided to part ways with LeBron and move on to the Boston Celtics, which shocked fans around the league. Irving recently addressed how things went down during a Twitch stream.
“When you’re playing with somebody like LeBron, it’s a different animal, and you’re automatically expected to be at the top of the charts,” said Irving. “It’s gonna be a lot of narratives and a lot of sh*t you don’t see in front of the camera. I was just a young person trying to figure it out. It’s not that I disliked playing with LeBron; it was just my time to move on, and that’s what people have to accept… You have no idea what the f**k happened. When I’m done playing, you guys will hear the real story.”
Irving left a bit of room for doubt
Although there were rumors about disagreements between Kyrie and LeBron, it’s clear that wasn’t the case, as the two have consistently shown mutual respect even after their split. Still, Irving left a bit of room for doubt, and we’ll have to wait until the end of his career to truly know what went down.
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Despite the 1-3 Finals record, that duo will be remembered as one of the best ever assembled. Against a team that went 73-9 in the regular season, they returned from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals and became the first team in history to do so.
Irving hit the iconic three-pointer over Curry in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals, delivering the Cavaliers their first-ever championship. Averaging 27.1 points in that series, Kyrie was crucial to the comeback, and the chemistry with LeBron looked elite.
While many believe Kyrie felt ready to become the team’s number one option, something that could only happen via a trade, this was never confirmed, and his departure has always been shrouded in mystery. At one point, LeBron even admitted he missed playing with Irving, to which Kyrie responded.
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“I think we have both been able to mature and really appreciate what we got a chance to accomplish. I think there were some things that got in the way of our relationship when I was younger” Irving said.
As we wait for both of them to finish their careers to find out what truly happened, all we can do is regret not seeing more of this duo. Their skillsets were complementary and a nightmare for opponents. They were so good that the 73-9 team felt forced to bring in Kevin Durant after losing to them in the Finals. That’s the level of greatness we’re talking about.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 11, 2025, where it first appeared.