Kyrie Irving Reflects On Early Cavs Years, Partnership With LeBron James: 'I Was Not a Winner'

Kyrie Irving is pulling back the curtain on his early NBA career, and his recent comments offer a candid glimpse into the highs and lows of his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers — including the behind-the-scenes truth about his much-debated partnership with LeBron James.

Speaking during a recent livestream, the 9x All-Star reflected on how losing early in his career shaped bad habits, what it was really like playing alongside LeBron, and why fans still don’t know the full story of their time together. While Irving made it clear he’s grateful for Cleveland and everything the franchise did for him, he also admitted he wishes he could have chosen his own path from the start, developing alongside players he admired and respected.

“I love Cleveland, don’t get me wrong. I’m appreciative of all the things that they’ve done for me," said Irving on a recent live stream. "But at the same time, I would've loved to choose the franchise I wanted to go to. I would’ve loved to develop alongside some of my favorite players and some of my favorite people. Being a young player on a team that’s not winning a lot of games, it’s just a lot of bad habits that form, and that’s what ended up happening to me." 

Before Irving was winning championships with LeBron or stirring up drama in Brooklyn, he was simply a budding young star trying to lead his team to glory. While Kyrie earned a lot of attention due to his flashy playstyle, all he really wanted to do was lead the Cavaliers to contention in the East.

“I was not a winner, I was not a good loser, I had a lot of bad habits as a young player, and that came from losing games and just trying to get buckets all the time," Irving said. "I know it may have been beautiful for everybody to watch, getting all the highlights and getting all the accolades, but all I really wanted to do was win.”

LeBron's arrival in the summer of 2014 altered the trajectory of the franchise overnight. In one move, he made the Cavaliers title contenders, and Irving found himself having to adjust on the fly. While they did end up winning a championship together in 2016 (while Kyrie averaged 19.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game), their partnership did not last. After forcing a trade the very next summer, Irving parted ways with LeBron, and he says there's more to the story than meets the eye.

“When you’re playing with somebody like LeBron, it’s a different animal, and you’re automatically expected to be at the top of the charts," said Irving. "It’s gonna be a lot of narratives and a lot of sh*t you don’t see in front of the camera. I was just a young person trying to figure it out. It’s not that I disliked playing with LeBron; it was just my time to move on, and that’s what people have to accept… You have no idea what the f**k happened. When I’m done playing, you guys will hear the real story.”

Irving, now 33, has had a lot of time to reflect on his past, and it sounds like he's got some regrets about how it all played out. He never wanted to be a Cavalier and was willing to sacrifice some of his own spotlight to build a stable and prosperous situation on another team.

Fortunately, he's finding some of that today with the Dallas Mavericks. Alongside Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson, and now Cooper Flagg, Irving is poised to get in Dallas what he's always wanted: an opportunity to win a championship on his terms.