Kyrie Irving reiterates he had no issues playing with LeBron James at the Cleveland Cavaliers

Kyrie Irving is widely considered one of the most talented players in National Basketball Association (NBA) history and is seen as a future Hall of Famer, thanks to his stellar performances throughout his career.

Irving is arguably the best ball-handler in NBA history and, despite his smaller stature, is able to shoot from nearly impossible positions. The guard sent shockwaves through the basketball community in July 2017 when he requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers, just a year after helping the team complete one of the greatest comebacks in NBA Finals history — overturning a 3–1 deficit against the Golden State Warriors to win the 2016 NBA Championship.

Irving’s trade request came as a surprise, with reports emerging that the then 25-year-old no longer wanted to play alongside LeBron James, who was the face of the franchise. He reportedly wanted to be the main star of a team — something that wouldn’t have been possible in Cleveland.

In a recent Twitch live stream, the superstar guard dismissed those rumors, saying it was simply time to move on.

“When you are playing with someone like James, or somebody you like to compare him to, it’s a different animal. It’s a different journey. You’re automatically expected to be at the top of the league. Every time you play with James, there’s going to be a lot of media attention, a lot of narratives — spun narratives, politics, a lot of s*** that people don’t see in front of the camera.

“And for me, I was just a young person trying to figure it out. It’s not that I disliked playing with James at any time — it was just literally my time to move on,” Irving said.

Kyrie Irving is opening up about the early chapters of his career, and he says fans still don’t know the real story of his time with LeBron James on the Cavs.

On a recent livestream, the 9x NBA All-Star admitted he was “not a winner” during his early Cleveland years, picking up… pic.twitter.com/RzmFFvdeOY

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 11, 2025

Selected as the first overall pick by the Cavaliers in the 2011 NBA Draft, Irving played three seasons with LeBron after his return to Cleveland in 2014. Things changed significantly after James’ arrival, as Irving was no longer the centerpiece of the team and was forced to play second fiddle — and at times third — after Kevin Love joined that same summer.

“I would have loved to choose the franchise I wanted to go to. I would have loved to develop next to some of my favorite players. Being a young player on a team that wasn’t winning a lot of games, I developed a lot of bad habits. I was not a winner. I was not a good loser at all.

“I take accountability — I had a lot of bad habits. That came from losing games and trying to get buckets all the time. I know it may have looked beautiful to everyone — all the highlights, accolades — but all I really wanted to do was win,” he added.

Notably, Irving’s time in Cleveland remains the most successful stretch of his career. He has not found the same level of success during his stints with the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, and currently, the Dallas Mavericks.

In addition to winning the 2016 NBA title, Irving was named the 2014 NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP), the 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year, the 2013 NBA Three-Point Contest champion, and has earned nine NBA All-Star selections, among numerous other honors.

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