Though most basketball fans were hoping for a bitter feud between Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, it appears the rivalry isn’t overly tense.
This was manifested Thursday, when James selected Irving for his NBA All-Star Game team. In fact, James said it was “an easy choice” picking his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate.
While Irving now plays for the rival Boston Celtics, who will be battling the Cavs for the Eastern Conference crown, it sounds like the star guard is looking forward to reuniting with James, as well as Kevin Love.
“It will be fun (to play with James and Love),” Irving told ESPN’s Chris Forsberg on Friday. “All-Star weekend’s just an enjoyable experience. It’s a time for us as competitors to get together when we’re not necessarily with our teams and going against one another. It’s great to see the two captains choose who they felt were the best fit for their team, and I’m glad that I’m playing with a bunch of great players.”
There have been rumors galore regarding Irving’s departure from Cleveland. The 25-year-old reportedly was tired of playing in James’ shadow, and there even was a report claiming Irving threatened to undergo surgery if the Cavs didn’t fulfill his trade request. But the Celtics point guard effectively has nixed all of this chatter, and he always will value the relationships he formed with past teammates.
“I think you’ve heard it if you’ve talked to championship winners before, but when you’re on a championship team, it’s just a bond that can’t be broken forever,” Irving said. “Just going through that, the way we created history — we’re the only team in history to come back from 3-1. And that’s something that will be etched in NBA history for life.
“And that’s always a connection, something that we can always reminisce about no matter what. It’s an incredible bond that we built as a team, individually being tested at the highest level, and doing something that you can remember for the rest of your life and tell your kids about.”
Now, Irving surely is hoping to form new championship memories with his Celtics teammates.
