Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will be sitting back with the rest of us as we watch Kyrie Irving lead his Dallas Mavericks into the NBA Finals.
Irving and the Mavs will kick off the championship series against his former Boston Celtics team on the road Thursday evening.
Imagine reading those two sentences roughly a decade ago.
When James returned to his original Cleveland Cavaliers team ahead of the 2014-15 season, Irving was already doing his thing in Ohio. It ultimately led to a run of three consecutive NBA Finals appearances and a Larry O’Brien Trophy for the two in Cleveland.
As you likely already know, this marriage devolved big time. It led to Irving requesting a trade from Cleveland following the 2016-17 season. He eventually landed with the aforementioned Celtics. The rest is pretty much history.
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LeBron James lobs praise in Kyrie Irving’s direction ahead of NBA Finals
It sure does seem that any bad feelings that came with Irving’s departure from Cleveland in 2017 has faded. James was openly recruiting him to Southern California last summer.
He’s now praising Irving while showing some anger that the two are no longer teammates.
“I’m so f**king happy, and so proud, to watch him continue his growth and whatever the case may be. And at the same time, I’m so f**king mad at the same time that I’m not his running mate anymore.”
LeBron James on Kyrie Irving, via his Mind the Game podcast
James expanded on what he’s seen from Irving since the star guard made his way to Dallas midway through last season.
“I have so many words to praise Kyrie that I end up with absolutely none,” James said. “He is the most gifted player the NBA has ever seen. He has the best gifts I’ve ever seen of any NBA player.”
Irving, 32, seems to have found a home with Luka Doncic in Big D after drama-filled stays with the Cavaliers, Celtics and Brooklyn Nets.
He was absolutely brilliant in his first full regular season with the Mavericks, averaging 25.6 points to go with 5.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists. Irving also shot 50% from the field, including 41% from three-point range.
As for the Lakers, they are coming off a first-round exit at the hands of the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Playoffs. James will opt out of his contract. But the sense is that he’ll end up re-signing with the Lakers. Outside of that, everything seems to be up in the air in Southern California.