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“Competitive Jealousy”: Former NBA Player Explains Kyrie Irving’s Alleged Comments on LeBron James

Published 10/03/2020, 6:15 AM EDT

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Brooklyn Nets superstar Kyrie Irving recently made some questionable statements about his former teammates, including a presumed shot at his Cavs all-star partner, LeBron James. James and Irving won a championship together back in 2016 after overcoming a 3-1 lead.

However, after winning the sole ring of his career, Kyrie hasn’t returned to the NBA finals. Moreover, he demanded a trade to the Boston Celtics to be a leader of his own team. But surprisingly, he left Boston after just two seasons.

Irving has now teamed up with Kevin Durant in Brooklyn with an aspiration to win it all. After Irving’s initial comments, he tried to clarify his stance, but NBA analyst Jalen Rose had other thoughts.

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So what happens is when you are in that atmosphere [in a podcast], at first it becomes an interview and then it becomes locker room talk. Then you start to feel confident about what you have accomplished, and I call this competitive jealousy.

“They [Durant and Irving] are watching the NBA Finals and they are like LeBron didn’t lose to the Clippers like KD predicted. Kyrie’s like he is about to win a championship with Anthony Davis. And now, it reminds me of when Shaq and the late great Kobe Bryant broke up.

Shaq really valued that ring in Miami and Kobe got his rings without Shaq, he really valued those two… That’s what gonna happen with KD, leaving the Warriors, he is gonna really validate himself, if he wins it with the Nets same with Kyrie, leaving LeBron.”

Jalen Rose’s take seems truly viable looking at the current situation in the league. If KD and Kyrie were healthy, they could have been the ones facing LBJ and AD in the finals.

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Who will be the next opponent of LeBron James and the Lakers?

USA Today via Reuters

The Lakers hold a 2-0 lead as of now in the NBA Finals and are on the brink of becoming 2020 NBA champions. If the Lakers keep up their performances from the last two games, the Heat will be in trouble, unless they pull off a miraculous comeback in the next few games.

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But what about next year? Is the Nets vs Lakers finals matchup inevitable? Well, if both teams live up to their potential, they should be the teams to face off in the finals.

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What do you think about Jalen Rose’s response to Kyrie’s comments on LBJ?

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Written by:

Aikansh Chaudhary

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Aikansh Chaudhary is an NBA columnist for Essentially Sports. Previously, he helped rank various websites using the latest SEO techniques, and wrote over 2000 articles during his stint as a freelance writer. A die hard Lakers fan, Aikansh will forever uphold LeBron James as the GOAT.
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