This season, Boston Celtics star Kyrie Irving has been in the center of quite a bit of team drama.
He has repeatedly cited the team's youth and inexperience as reasons for their struggles. At times, this frustration has boiled over into public comments criticizing some of the team's young players.
In mid-January, Irving gave former teammate LeBron James a phone call. He told reporters that the call was to apologize to James for not handling his criticism well when the two were teammates in Cleveland.
During Saturday's NBA All-Star Media Day, James responded to the call.
Via Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group:
LeBron James on his phone call from Kyrie Irving: It takes a real man to come to grips with what happened and apologize or say that, “‘At that point in time, I thought I was ready for something, but I really wasn’t.’” pic.twitter.com/2Q74TOm8t2
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) February 16, 2019
When asked about the situation, James had nothing but praise for his former teammate.
“…I've always loved Kyrie, from before I met him to when I became his teammate to even now. I've always thought he was special. I mean, there's a reason there's only 24 of us here this weekend, and he's here for a reason.”
In Cleveland, James was tasked with leading a young, talented team to the NBA championship. He and a young Irving butted heads at times, the veteran James trying to get Irving headed in the right direction.
Now Irving is leading a similar team in Boston. And now that he can see the situation from the other side, he is certainly more appreciative of James' leadership skills in Cleveland.
At 37-21, the Celtics hold the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. Irving, in the midst of his sixth NBA All-Star season, has been a driving force for the team.
This season, the 26-year-old point guard has averaged 23.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.9 assists, while shooting 49.8%.
Follow Us
Subscribe