Kyrie reflects on past NBA Finals with LeBron: ‘I really miss him’

BOSTON — Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving could see it coming, as a second corner defender to stop him from shooting a step-back 3.

Yes, of course, Irving heard what his former teammate, LeBron James, said about him on Tuesday, and Irving was ready to be immediately asked about it now that he’s back in the NBA Finals for the first time since all those runs with James when they were together in Cleveland.

“Is that the first question,” Irving said from the stage during the finals media day, laughing at the entire scene. “Oh, my God, I love it. Gotta love it, man.

On Tuesday, James, a six-year Los Angeles Laker, said, “Sitting here watching (Irving’s finale with the Mavericks), I’m so happy and so proud to see him continue his growth.”

“At the same time, I’m so mad that I’m not his running mate anymore,” James told his podcast co-host, JJ Redick, in a teaser for an episode of their “Mind the Game.” podcast.

“It’s appreciated,” Irving said in response. “There’s also a lot of gratitude there.”

Irving, 32, hasn’t gotten this far in the playoffs since his final season with James on the Cavaliers, when they lost to the Golden State Warriors in five games in the 2017 Finals. After Game 5, Irving forced his way out of Cleveland while he was still under contract, specifically to escape James and the enormous power and influence James wielded over the Cavs.

In the fall of 2018, James said Athleticism that Irving’s trade from Cleveland to the Celtics was “the beginning of the end” for the Cavs’ Eastern Conference dynasty, as well as his own stay in Cleveland.

The twists and turns of Irving’s career since leaving LeBron are well documented and include a tumultuous time with the Celtics. In recent days, Irving said he “wasn’t his best self” while in Boston, and on Wednesday discussed his personal growth since that time (and his final days in Cleveland) which allowed him to better appreciate the relationship he had – and now has – with James.

“Obviously, I’m at another age, in another place in my life. Him too,” Irving said. “I think we’ve both managed to mature and really appreciate what we’ve been lucky enough to accomplish.

“I think there were some things that hindered our relationship when I was a little younger. Now that I am able to express what I feel as a man, to be comfortable there, to stay in my place, my convictions, where I come from, I feel like our relationship is different because of this now.

As a duo in Cleveland, James and Irving reached the finals three years in a row (James and the Cavs achieved a fourth consecutive season without Irving). They won the only Finals in Cleveland history – in the only comeback from a 3-1 deficit in Finals history – thanks to a Game 7 triple-double from James and a game-winning 3-out from Irving in the last minute. who will be remembered forever in Cleveland.

But the two only lasted one more season together. Irving was tired of playing in James’ enormous shadow and enduring James’ sometimes condescending comments. He wanted the same exceptions the Cavs had made for James (like hiring friends for positions in the organization), and he wanted the benefits of being the alpha star on a competitive team he knew ‘they were offered. James.

Irving’s two seasons in Boston were marked by injuries, first, then controversy, and by the time he opted out of his contract in the summer of 2019 to sign as a free agent at Brooklyn, he had decided he no longer wanted to be in the spotlight. to himself — the way James has lived for virtually all of his 21 NBA seasons, whether or not there were other stars on his team.

Irving called James to apologize for the way he behaved towards him while they were together in Cleveland, and several times since they hoped to team up together on the Lakers – or in the case of Irving in Dallas.

Irving — seeking leverage for the potential three-year, $120 million contract he received from the Mavericks last summer — made it known he was recruiting James to join him there. This obviously didn’t work.

Irving averaged 25.6 points for the Mavericks this season and is averaging 22.8 points during the playoffs while shooting 42 percent from 3-point range.

“I really miss him,” Irving said. “Playing out there, making it easy, being able to run down the field, just throw the ball to someone like that, throw it in the air, as athletic as possible.

“(I have) a mutual respect there for what we brought to the table. His leadership, my leadership style, I think it meshed really well. I learned many things from him that I will appreciate for the rest of my life.

Among the many intriguing storylines in the 2024 Finals, one is Irving’s return to face the Celtics, as they are one of his three former teams. But in all those Finals with James and Cleveland, they beat the Celtics twice in the playoffs. In 2015, in Irving’s first playoff run, they swept the Celtics in the first round, then in 2017 it was a gentleman’s sweep of Boston in the conference finals.

In recounting James’ most recent comments, Irving said his mind goes back to those memorable series against Boston, against the Warriors, against any opponent Cleveland faced in that era.

“Man, when he says comments like that, I think about those times when we’re at the bottom of a series, at the top of a series, we really demand greatness from each other,” Irving said. “I really think about that time.

“Now we’re here in the present where we’re able to think, but also now I’m at this point, able to use some of the formulas that he taught me, some of the great teachers that came before me. I feel like I was built for this moment because I experienced some of the things that I experienced in my past with some of the guys that transcended the game.

“Thanks to LeBron for that. (He) knows how to start a media storm, get everyone here talking about us.

And with that, it was time for Irving to snap out of his memories, get back on the Mavericks bus and think about playing in Boston again.

Required reading

(Photo: David Berding/Getty Images)