LeBron James Praised Kyrie Irving’s ‘Growth’ After Their In-Season Phone Call

The relationship between Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, once as frigid as a North Dakota winter, has warmed of late. The thawing began with a phone call from Irving to his former Cavs teammate, where Irving expressed regret for, essentially, being a stubborn young player who wanted to be “the man” in Cleveland and have, in Irving’s words, “everything at his fingertips.”

The call came on the heels of some frustration for Irving, whose Celtics have had an up-and-down season, and a specific annoyance with some of the younger players on Boston’s roster. Being “the man” is harder than wanting to be “the man,” a fact Irving has now learned for himself.

We hadn’t heard much from James on his thoughts about the call, but during LeBron’s media availability on Saturday during All-Star Weekend in Charlotte, he spoke glowingly about his former point guard and the maturity that phone call showed him.

“It takes a real man and a real person to be able to understand who they are to call and be able to see their wrongdoings, or believe they had some wrongdoings, James said. “Then be able to come to grips with that and either apologize or say that ‘At that point in time, I thought I was ready for something, but I really wasn’t.'”

James went on to continue to praise Irving, saying he’s “always loved” him and that his game is “special.”

“There’s a reason why there’s really only 24 of us here this weekend,” James said.

Whether Irving and James will ever share the floor again as teammates remains nothing more than speculation, but the two have certainly started to heal whatever wounds broke them up in the first place. Given it was just two years ago that LeBron was at All-Star Weekend in New Orleans supporting Kyrie’s Flat Earth theories, it’s just nice to see them getting along again after a significant rough patch.