LeBron James and Kyrie Irving joined forces in 2016 to bring an NBA championship to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Since then, their relationship has varied significantly from year to year.
This week, James took to social media to make it clear where he and his former teammate presently stand.
There wasn’t much ambiguity in his statement.
“He’s truly so misunderstood!” James wrote on Twitter.
“I love seeing his growth as well throughout the years! Always believed and knew he was so much more and deeper than just a phenomenal basketball player!”
It’s worth remembering, the pair’s relationship wasn’t always like this. Yes, nowadays they’re having secret powwows to plot how they can team up on the Los Angeles Lakers.
But prior to this, they had some pretty awkward public exchanges that left folks understandably confused about whether they were beefing.
It was only this past year that James started peddling Irving-related conspiracy theories, prompting fans to assume that they had resolved their issues. And then when the Lakers rumors heated up this summer, it was made clear that they’re in a good place now.
This is all really new, though. Because of that, it’s hard to know what is at the root of their newfound buddy-buddy nature.
Is it because they want to team up together in L.A. next summer? Are they just genuinely getting along better now?
Now that’s a proper NFL outfit. https://t.co/pUirUW0ftZ
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 9, 2022
It’s unclear.
Big picture, the Lakers have some big decisions ahead of them over the next few weeks. A dark horse suitor has emerged for Russell Westbrook’s services that could solve a lot of the franchise’s problems.
But if that deal doesn’t materialize, or if it does but doesn’t work as planned, it wouldn’t be all that shocking to see Irving find a way to finagle his way into a purple and gold uniform come the 2023-24 NBA season.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
