Kyrie Irving called LeBron James to apologize, said leadership not meant for many
Kyrie Irving, after the Celtics beat Toronto Raptors 118-107, said that he called LeBron James to apologize about how he acted as a teammate, as a young player on the team who wanted to be the leader and asked for advice on his current situation.
After Celtics lost to Orlando, last Wednesday, Kyrie let some emotions out on the court and went on to yell at Gordon Hayward who was in-bounding the ball in the last possession which could have saved the match for them. Jayson Tatum missed the potential game-winner and Celtics fell to Orlando by 103-105.
After the 2017 season, Kyrie asked to be traded from the Cleveland Cavaliers and never officially revealed why. Many assumed that he wanted to get out of LeBron's shadows. The Lebron James - Kyrie Irving fallout was one that hit Cleveland Cavaliers hard and definitely ruffled the league in terms of what came after that. LeBron went on to shoulder the team to yet another finals but only to get washed by the Warriors in four games; while Kyrie missed half the season due to knee surgery.
Now that Kyrie is getting a first-hand experience on what it takes to lead a caliber team, he understands what it could have taken LeBron to return back to Cleveland amidst all the adversity and lead the team to it's only NBA championship.
"I had to call LeBron and tell him I apologized for being that young player that wanted everything at his fingertips, and I wanted everything at my threshold. I wanted to be the guy that led us to a championship. I wanted to be the leader. I wanted to be all that, and the responsibility of being the best in the world and leading your team is something that is not meant for many people. LeBron was one of those guys who came to Cleveland and tried to show us how to win a championship, and it was hard for him, and sometimes getting the most out of the group is not the easiest thing in the world."
Kyrie also apologized to his younger Celtic teammates and said that it should have stayed within the team after the loss to Magic. Kyrie has lifted concern over the inexperience and the selfish mentality of the youngsters which has to be addressed.
"I did a poor job of setting an example for these young guys what it's like to get something out of your teammates," he said. "Going forward, I want to test these young guys, but I can't do it publicly. That was a learning experience for me, realizing the magnitude of my voice and what I mean to these guys."
Coming into the season, Celtics were expected to be the top team in the East but have struggled with the team chemistry and currently stand at the 5th seed. As the season enters the second phase, the team has to step up and gel together as the competition is wild.