Kyrie Irving looks back at his time playing with LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers and provides insight on what led to him leaving.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) and forward LeBron James (23) during the second quarter in game four of the 2017 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors at Quicken Loans Arena.
The duo of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving created magic for the Cleveland Cavaliers. But after winning it all in 2016, Irving upped and left James and Cleveland to gain more control over his career. 

All of which Irving is starting to come to terms with in a recent Livestream. Part of this process has been looking back on his relationship with James. In his recent comments, Irving noted his desire to move on from the Cavaliers and make his own decisions, but not at the expense of LeBron. 

“I would have loved to choose the franchise I wanted to go to… 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.”

Since leaving the Cavaliers, Irving has gone on to play with the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, and now the Dallas Mavericks. Recently, Irving has been recovering from a torn ACL injury he sustained towards the end of the season. 

As of this date, Irving and James maintain a strong relationship. 

The time LeBron James and Kyrie Irving shared with the Cavaliers 

In 2011, the Cavaliers drafted Irving out of Duke. He joined the franchise after James left to play with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat. 

Four years later, James made his way back to the Cavaliers. In 2016, the two team up for the improbable run to the NBA championship over the Golden State Warriors in seven games. 

In addition, they helped lead Cleveland to the NBA Finals on two other occasions. Despite the success, there seemed to be a subtle tension between the two, with Irving not wanting to play the role of “little brother” to James. 

In the years since, the two have made up.