LeBron James Recieved Apology From Kyrie Irving Amid Celtics Struggle

Kyrie Irving is slowly but surely learning what it takes to be the leader of a team after joining a young Boston Celtics team in 2017 and this season has surely tested him especially in recent weeks when the team’s form has been inconsistent.

He admitted that his recent call to LeBron James was to apologize for not seeing the bigger picture when they were teammates.

The Celtics point guard, who is regarded as the de facto leader of the team, called out his young teammates by claiming that they do not know what it takes to be a championship level team. He also made a point to insist that things are only going to get tougher when they enter the playoffs and are fighting for a place in the final.

Irving was frustrated after his team had lost a close game against the Orlando Magic – one that they could have won. They went on to lose again two days later against the Brooklyn Nets, prior to which the Celtics guard came out and sort of apologized for calling out his teammates in public.

The Celtics managed to turn their three game losing streak around when Irving starred in the fourth quarter to lead them to a 117-108 victory over Eastern Conference leaders Toronto Raptors. And after the game, Irving again insisted that his comments did not mean to hurt his teammates, but just wanted them to understand the importance of winning difficult games; he did admit he could have delivered it in a better manner.

Irving also revealed that he called James, his former teammate at the Cleveland Cavaliers and apologized to him as he was in a similar position when they were teammates and trying to win a championship together. The Cavaliers achieved their target by beating the dominant Golden State Warriors and Irving understands that James had the difficult job of keeping the team together in tough moments.

“I don’t think they were really hurtful because I think my intent was really set in stone that I want to win. I don’t think it probably came out the best way I wanted to,” Irving said after the Celtics win over the Raptors.

“Coming to that point, I have been on a team where things have been said and that’s not the best way to get the most out of the group. You do everything as the leader of the team to get the most out of the group and sometimes it may not be received as well as you would like, you got to live with that,” he added.

Irving admitted that being a leader of a team is a new position for him to be in and revealed that he called James to apologize to him for not seeing the bigger picture when he was with the Cavaliers. The Celtics guard also made it clear that being the leader is something he wants after he asked to be traded after spending three seasons in the shadow of the three-time NBA champion.

The Celtics point guard also touched on the deep relationship he shares with the Los Angeles Lakers star, who is widely considered one of the greatest to ever play the game. But he made it clear that when they come face-to-face on the court, their friendship will be put aside temporarily in order to focus on being the best.