Kyrie Irving was absolutely taking a shot at LeBron James, but he’s no hater

Kyrie Irving was absolutely taking a shot at LeBron James

In a recent podcast with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving said he feels like he’s the best option on every team in clutch situations, until now when he joined the Brooklyn Nets.

Umm. Is there a guy named LeBron James he’s forgetting? Or does he think that hitting a clutch 3 against the Golden State Warriors entitles him to such opinion? Well, okay. Let’s layout the context first. In the ETCs podcast, co-host Eddie Gonzales asks Kyrie:

"10 seconds left. One point game. Who’s shooting?"

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Here’s Kyrie Irving’s full response from Kevin Durant’s official Youtube channel:

"Depends on who’s hot. I don’t see it as anything other than that. 1-3 pick and roll. or an iso for either one of us, or it’s something great for our team. One thing I’ve always been comfortable with is, you know, I felt like I was the best option on every team I’ve played for down the stretch. This is the first time in my career where I can be like, ‘that (expletive) can make that shot too.’"

Yes, hate is a strong word. There’s no hate here. Kyrie Irving was answering a question as to who takes the last shot: him or Kevin Durant. But in the process, was he throwing shade at LeBron James?

Yes. Nowhere in the conversation were they talking about past teams or past teammates, but Kyrie just had to subtly bring them up.

But don’t ask me. Let’s ask someone closer to the situation.

Richard Jefferson, a former teammate of theirs during their time with the Cleveland Cavaliers, thinks Kyrie Irving was taking a shot at LeBron James. In The Jump with Rachel Nichols, Jefferson says:

"Ultimately, I just find that statement to be false.We watched LeBron take teams to the Finals with Kyrie, without Kyrie. We’ve seen it too many times. And I think there are ways to compliment guys like Kevin Durant – you know, your future pairing – without kind of throwing a shot at another individual.Look, I don’t know the context of it so I need to see it. But when you this, this is a direct shot. And when it’s said during the NBA Finals, when the person that it would be directed at is up 1-0 chasing another title, you just wonder if there is more to that. It is a little disappointing to say the least because you can compliment someone without throwing shots at other people and I feel like this is just a shot."

Vince Carter agreed with Jefferson, but like him, was cautious as to whether things were taken out of context. Rachel Nichols clarifies what the context was. After a brief silence, Jefferson responds:

"“There’s a lot of speechlessness here.”"

If you don’t want to believe Jefferson or Carter, then let’s just look at the facts. Kirk Goldsberry of ESPN compared the clutch shooting stats of Kyrie Irving and LeBron James when they were teammates Cleveland. In the last five minutes of every game, the score within five, here’s how they did:

Not only did LeBron take way more clutch shots, he made a significantly higher percentage between them too whether from inside or outside the arc. Clearly, the facts don’t back up Kyrie’s opinion.

Kyrie Irving did deny that he was taking a shot at LeBron James.

Well, he did say that he now has a teammate that can hit clutch shots for “the first time in my career,” did he? Did he really have to include that phrase? It was plainly unnecessary. The direct consequence of saying “for the first time in my career” is comparing the present time to every other time in his career. And that includes the time he rode tandem with LeBron James.

Remember when Kyrie Irving left the Cavs? He said his departure from Cleveland was “inevitable” and that “they didn’t want me there.” Previous to that, Brian Windhorst reported that Kyrie requested a trade because he essentially didn’t want to play second fiddle to LeBron anymore.

All things considered, I don’t believe this is hate from Kyrie. It takes actual hate to be a hater, and I don’t think that’s what’s going on here. And I think it’s actually fair to say that the media may have at times been unfair to him.

It’s just Kyrie Irving with Mamba Mentality. With a chip on his shoulder. With something to prove. Sometimes, NBA players need this mindset in order to achieve greatness.

But was he taking a shot? Kyrie may have denied it, but yes, he was. Subtly, but surely.