Kyrie Irving apologises to former Cleveland Cavaliers team-mate LeBron James
Thursday 17 January 2019 10:47, UK
Kyrie Irving has revealed that he called LeBron James to apologise for failing to understand the difficulties his former team-mate faced when leading their championship-winning Cleveland Cavaliers team.
James returned to his hometown Cavaliers in 2014, where to that point in his young career, Irving had enjoyed almost free reign and control over team.
Although the pair won a championship together in 2016, Irving's frustration at playing second fiddle to James eventually led to his departure for the Boston Celtics in 2017, where he has struggled at times with his role as the leader of a young squad.
"Obviously, this was a big deal for me, because I had to call (LeBron) and tell him I apologised for being that young player that wanted everything at his fingertips, and I wanted everything at my threshold," Irving said after scoring 27 points and dishing out a career-high 18 assists in Boston's 117-108 home victory over the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.
"I wanted to be the guy that led us to a championship. I wanted to be the leader. I wanted to be all that, and the responsibility of being the best in the world and leading your team is something that is not meant for many people.
"[LeBron] was one of those guys who came to Cleveland and tried to show us how to win a championship, and it was hard for him, and sometimes getting the most out of the group is not the easiest thing in the world."
Although Irving is delivering what many consider to be the most impressive season of his career, the Celtics have so far struggled to live up to expectations, as they sit fifth in the Eastern Conference.
Irving has let his frustration get the better of him on a few occasions and publicly criticised some of the team's younger players, most recently following a defeat to the Orlando Magic on Saturday.
James followed Irving out of Cleveland a year later and has now taken his talents to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference, meaning the pair will only face each other twice this season, barring a meeting in the finals.
The first of those encounters will be live on Sky Sports on February 8, with James expected to have returned from the groin injury that has kept him out of action since Christmas Day.
"Being in this position is something new for me," Irving said. "So I take it with a grain of salt and I just enjoy all of this. So having that moment to be able to call a guy like that where we've been through so much, where we won a championship together ... it took a lot.
"Now I'm in this position; I asked for this and I want this. I want the responsibility. And I take it on full force. But it's also good to reach out for help and really take responsibility for what you've done in your career.
"It takes a real man to go back, call somebody and be like, 'Hey, man, I was young. I made some mistakes, I wasn't seeing the big picture like you were. I didn't have the end of the season in mind.'"
