People are speculating that Kyrie Irving took a jab at LeBron James after recent comments he made on The Etc with Kevin Durant podcast. In it, Irving said his upcoming season with Durant will be the first time in his career that he'll feel like there's someone else on his team who could make the final shot besides him.
When asked who between him and Durant is taking the final shot with 10 seconds left in a one-point game, Kyrie responded: "Depends on who's hot. I don't see it as anything other than that. One-three pick and roll, or it's an iso for either one of us or it's something great for our team."
Kyrie continued, "One thing I've always been comfortable with is I felt like I was the best option on every team I've played for down the stretch. This is the first time in my career where I can look down and be like, 'That motherf*cker can make that shot too."
It wasn't long before people on social media began speculating that Irving's comments were an underhanded jab at James, who he played with in Cleveland for three seasons. Despite their success together, a run that included three Finals appearances and a championship, Irving eventually requested a trade from the Cavs and he and James had a falling out. With that in mind, it's no surprise that people took Irving's aforementioned comments as a sneak diss aimed at the King. Check out what fans had to say about Kyrie's comments down below.
Naturally, something LeBron James said following Kyrie's comments is being taken as a possible response. According to ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin, when asked about what the key is to his relationship with Lakers teammate Anthony Davis, LeBron replied, "We’re not jealous of one another."
Here's what people had to say about LeBron's possible response to Kyrie:
And in further proof that NBA players hear and see everything, Davis also made some comments about team chemistry, as pointed out by Lakers writer Kevin Ding.
So far, there hasn't been much chatter that Davis was also taking shots at Kyrie, but never underestimate NBA Twitter
Now back to the podcast that started all this drama. Another notable moment occured when the conversation turned to the Brooklyn Nets' new head coach, Steve Nash. At one point, Irving seemed to imply that there would be coaching by committee next year in Brooklyn.
Despite what seems like incendiary rhetoric, NetsRepublic writer Alec Sturm pointed out that both Irving and Durant showed a lot of respect for Nash throughout their conversation.
Either way, it should be an interesting season in Brooklyn.
