Kyrie Irving made a startling admission last night after the win against the Raptors, wherein he told the media that he had called LeBron and apologised to him over the phone.
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Kyrie has been in the news in the past week because of his outburst post the Orlando win, when he criticised the younger Celtics group for not having the ‘championship mentality’.
Kyrie, who is now the leader of the pack in Boston, was heavily criticised for openly calling out his teammates.
But Kyrie later came out with a statement regarding how he has learnt from his mistake and that the media would from now on never hear Kyrie calling out his teammates.
New ESPN story: As Kyrie Irving tries to lead the Celtics, he called LeBron James to apologize for not appreciating what he tried teaching him as his teammate. “Hey, man, I was young. I made some mistakes, I wasn't seeing the big picture like you were.” https://t.co/P8JgaHuecG
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) January 17, 2019
Kyrie Irving apologized to LeBron James as he now tries to lead the Celtics' young players. pic.twitter.com/Qddtg9gOeL
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) January 17, 2019
Kyrie Irving says he called LeBron James after the Celtics’ loss to the Magic to apologize for “being that young player that wanted everything at his fingertips.” Naturally, there were a lot of follow-up q’s and he told us all to relax. pic.twitter.com/d4zeRKUbA5
— Nicole Yang (@nicolecyang) January 17, 2019
Kyrie apologised to LeBron over the phone for being a little immature during their time in Cleveland. The Celtics man explained how he wanted things on his fingertips in Cleveland and how it was tough for LeBron to get the best out of the team.
Irving also admitted to being a little selfish during his time in Cleveland.
“Obviously, this was a big deal for me, because 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.” Kyrie admitted
“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.” he added.
Now, coincidentally, when Kyrie called LeBron the other night, LeBron was having dinner with Kevin Love, post the game between the Cavaliers and the Lakers(according to Joe Vardon of The Atheltic).
LeBron James and Kevin Love were out to dinner. LeBron pulled out his phone to show him a missed call. It was Kyrie Irving. Scenes from an Italian LA restaurant where LeBron and Love were improbably together as Kyrie called to apologize @TheAthleticNBA https://t.co/KeaIeu16sD
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) January 17, 2019
LeBron immediately showed his phone to Love and exclaimed, “I wonder what he wants?”
LeBron did not respond to the call right away, but later had a private conversation with Kyrie and accepted his apology.
Kyrie, for the first time is bearing the responsibility of leading a team single handedly to the playoffs, and is realising the pressure of being the main man of the team.
It was a great gesture on his part to bury the hatchet with LeBron and take a few tips from him on how to lead teams to NBA titles.
