LeBron James 'hurt' by Kyrie Irving saying Kevin Durant was first teammate he could count on to hit big shots

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving have a complicated relationship. While the two managed to pull off one of the greatest upsets in NBA history on the Cleveland Cavaliers, Kyrie never seemed happy to play second fiddle and eventually forced a trade to the Boston Celtics. 

Since their split, LeBron has had greater success, including winning his fourth championship with the Los Angeles Lakers this year. But that has not stopped Kyrie from taking occasional shots at his former teammate. A few months ago, he talked about his excitement to play with Kevin Durant on the Nets, saying that he was happy to finally have a teammate he could trust to take the last shot.

LeBron confirmed that he heard what Kyrie said and was "hurt" by the implication that he was not a guy that could be counted on to hit big shots.

"I was a little like, 'Damn.' Once I got the whole transcript, I was like, 'Damn,'" LeBron said during an appearance on the "Road Trippin'" podcast with Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye and Allie Clifton. "I wasn't like, 'Oh, you trippin'. I've hit game-winning shots my whole life.' I was not like that. I was like, 'Damn.' Because ... I played with Kyrie for three seasons [with the Cleveland Cavaliers]. The whole time when I was there, I only wanted to see him be a MVP of our league. I only cared about his success. And it just didn't align. It just didn't align. And we were able to win a championship. That's the craziest thing. We were still able to win a championship, and we could never align. But I only cared about his well-being, both on and off the floor. And it kind of hurt me a little bit."

Ultimately, the two seemed to see their relationship as teammates differently. LeBron claims that he wanted to help Kyrie become an MVP while establishing the Cavaliers as a contender but it's obvious that Kyrie felt he was stuck in LeBron's shadow.