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CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 09: Kyrie Irving #2 and LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers high five against the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of the 2017 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 9, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

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CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 09: Kyrie Irving #2 and LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers high five against the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of the 2017 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena on June 9, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
LeBron James and Kyrie Irving managed to make a mark on history. Not only did they end Cleveland?s 54-year-long championship drought. They also ended up becoming the only team in NBA history to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers had managed to take down the Golden State Warriors after being down 3-1 in the 2016 NBA Finals.?
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But after the Cavs managed to do that, Kyrie Irving decided to take control of his destiny in the NBA. Irving has been one of the best point guards in the league. He was a menace when he left the Cavs to play for the Boston Celtics in 2017.
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The Irving and James relationship seemed beyond repair
Irving has been surrounded by controversies since his time in Brooklyn. However, Irving and James were a great one-two punch for the Cleveland Cavaliers back then. Although, it seemed that Irving was done playing in the shadow of LeBron James.

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Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James (6) talks with Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kyrie Irving (2) during media day the day before Game 1 of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, June 1, 2016. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) (Photo by MediaNews Group/Bay Area News via Getty Images)
No matter how good the player is, James has a tendency to overshadow the team?s best player. The same happened when James joined the Miami Heat and became the best player on the team, leaving Dwyane Wade behind.
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And the same story unfolded when he came back to Cleveland which was led by Kyrie Irving. Even though James played a role of a big brother to Irving during their time in Cleveland, Kyrie decided to take matters into his own hands.
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The way things went down was Irving thought it was LeBron James and his camp that leaked Irving?s desire for a trade out of Cleveland. And after that, their relationship seemed to be beyond repair.
Stephen A. Smith's "sources" tell him LeBron James wants to beat Kyrie Irving's ass: https://t.co/bmJJ1jcKPZ pic.twitter.com/3uw40YWNU0
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) July 25, 2017
Stephen A. Smith ended up adding fuel to the fire. His ?sources? managed to tell him news that might?ve been the last nail in the coffin. Smith?said, ?If Kyrie Irving was in front of LeBron James right now, LeBron James would be tempted to beat his a**.?
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Irving leaves LeBron James and the Cavs for greener pastures
Smith?s reports may or may not have been accurate, but Irving had already decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers to start a new chapter in his career. And LeBron James was clearly not happy about it.
James was all set to become a free agent the following summer, and Irving did not want to be the one left behind after James’ departure once again. So, Irving decided to pull the trigger before that would?ve happened.?
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Now, it wasn?t certain that LeBron James would?ve left Cleveland the following year but Irving sure did not want to stick around to find out. The two have interacted with one another prior to and after games since.?
What did you think of LeBron James and Kyrie Irving’s relationships during their days together in Cleveland? Let us know in the comments below.
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