With Kyrie Irving taking center stage on the NBA's biggest stage, his former teammate LeBron James admitted he wished the two were still playing together and called Irving “the most talented player in the history of the NBA.”
“I'm sitting here watching, and I'm just so happy and so proud to watch him continue to grow,” James told co-host JJ Redick in a preview of the next episode of the “Mind the Game” podcast, which premieres Wednesday. “And at the same time, I'm just so upset that I'm not his running mate anymore. It just reminds me of those days.”
The 32-year-old Irving will be returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2017, when he, James and the Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Golden State Warriors. The Boston Celtics will host Irving's Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 on Thursday. James and Irving played together in Cleveland for three seasons from 2014-2017, winning a championship in 2016 and reaching three straight Finals.
“I always called Kyrie 'The Wizard,'” James said of their time together. “There was nothing Kyrie couldn't do on the basketball court.”
Previewing the Celtics-Maverick championship series with Redick, James called Irving “the ultimate wild card.”
“It's like having a draw four in your hand every time someone deals you a card in Uno,” James said.
In 17 playoff games, Irving is averaging 22.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game while the eight-time All-Star is shooting 48.5 percent overall and 42.1 percent from the 3-point line.
James noted that it wasn't until Irving's performance in the first half against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, in which he scored 24 of his 30 points, that he became convinced the Mavericks had a chance to win the championship.
“It was like, 'Oh, shit, Dallas not only can win the Western Conference finals, they can win it all,'” James said. “Because of that (Irving) wild card. I have so many words of praise I want to say about Kyrie, but at the end of the day I don't have anything to say because he's the most talented player in the history of the NBA.”
This isn't the first time James has acknowledged he'd like to be reunited with Irving. Just days before the 2023 trade deadline, James made his opinion clear when asked whether Irving, who had just requested a trade from Brooklyn, would improve the Lakers' chances of winning a championship.
“Obviously, that's a, how can I put it, 'obvious' question when you talk about a player like that,” James said at the time.
The Lakers were one of several teams to target Irving at the 2023 trade deadline. They offered the Nets a package that included Russell Westbrook and two future first-round picks in 2027 and 2029. Athletic At the time, the Lakers' concern was Irving's impending free agency and possible departure during the 2023 offseason. The Lakers wanted Irving to agree to a two-year contract extension, but Irving wanted to try out free agency and sign a longer contract.
Shortly after Irving was traded to Dallas for a package that included Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 unconditional first-round pick and two second-round picks, James tweeted “Maybe it's me,” almost certainly a direct allusion to Irving being traded to another team.
Irving asked for a trade from Cleveland and joined the Celtics in the summer of 2017. He and James reunited a few seasons later when Irving sought James' advice on how to lead the Celtics.
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