Kyrie Irving reignited his old rivalry with LeBron James while appearing on the latest episode of Kevin Durant’s podcast, “The ETCs.”
Or so we thought.
Irving followed up Thursday night with a weird Twitter video in which he more or less suggested his comments were misconstrued.
“Why must it always be brother against brother? Why?” Irving asked, while taking a leisurely stroll with trees in the background. “If I’m addressing anyone, I’ll say their name.
“C’mon, ya’ll. Don’t listen to the false narratives. Let people live their lives. It’s just a game. Talk about the art, talk about the sport. We talk openly, we talk freely. But because we live in a click-bait society, it becomes something bigger.
“You don’t have to defend it. That’s just what media is. It’s entertainment. I’m not gonna let it put me against anybody anymore at any point, because that’s not what it’s about. We talk freely, openly, and that’s our society. You say how you feel, you don’t have to put me against anyone else. It’s never been about that. It’s about the love. Peace.”
If you’re just catching up, Irving said while praising Durant, his current teammate on the Brooklyn Nets, that this is the first time in his career he’s played with someone whom he believes is his equal in crunch time.
Understandably, many viewed that as a shot at James, Irving’s teammate for three seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2014-17) and one of the greatest players in NBA history. After all, despite supposedly mending fences, their relationship once deteriorated to the point where Irving requested a trade from Cleveland to escape James’ shadow.
Of course, this is the type of drama that only the NBA can provide, and it certainly sounded like James fired back with some shade of his own Thursday during an NBA Finals press conference.
All told, James has bigger things to worry about right now, with his Los Angeles Lakers facing the Miami Heat with the Larry O’Brien Trophy on the line.
And Irving, well, he’s clearly going to keep doing his thing, for better or worse.
