LeBron James Admits He Was Hurt By Kyrie Irving's Clutch Teammate Comments

LeBron James was blindsided by Kyrie Irving's appearance on Kevin Durant's podcast back in October. Irving told Durant he was the first teammate he would to hit clutch shots. James told Richard Jefferson he was hurt by those comments.

James was on Jefferson and Channing Frye's podcast Road Trippin' and said the following about hearing Irving make that claim:

First off, I have to ask, does every current or former NBA player now have a podcast? Who's left without one? Is it just like Alex Caruso and Maxi Kleber? Because if those two teamed up I'd definitely smash the subscribe button.

As for LeBron's reaction, it makes complete sense. He says he wasn't mad, he was hurt. James believes he dedicated himself to making Irving better and cared about him on and off the court. They never meshed perfectly but the two played together for three years with the Cleveland Cavaliers and had enormous success leading the franchise. Despite all that, it's 100 percent obvious the Irving was taking a shot at LeBron with his comments.

Irving had to know exactly what the reaction would be when he said what he did. He knew it was a shot at the best teammate he's ever played with -- which is clearly James. It was a cheap shot and LeBron has the right to be a little hurt by it.