NBA Scout Describes How Much Easier Kyrie Irving’s Life Was With LeBron James

No teammate has elevated Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving quite like Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James did.

Relayed to Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report, one scout described the significant impact James had on Irving during their days together on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“LeBron took so much pressure off of him. Kyrie’s so damn talented—he’s got a great left, a great right. He’s got the ball in his hands a lot, but you can play him off the ball. When you have a player like LeBron, it makes it so much easier for Kyrie to do things,” one NBA scout told Bleacher Report.

James and Irving played together for three seasons with the Cavs.

Irving, who was drafted by the Cavs in 2011, never made it to the playoffs until James returned to Cleveland in 2015.

However, the point guard ended up being one of James’ all-time best teammates. As a matter of fact, Irving and James went to the NBA Finals every year they played together.

Perhaps their greatest accomplishment as a duo, the pair captured the 2016 championship against the historic Golden State Warriors in a thrilling seven-game series.

Yet, despite reaching consistent levels of high success with James, Irving decided to pave his own way and demanded a trade. The Cavs shipped him to the Boston Celtics in the summer of 2017.

Following the blockbuster trade, James went to the NBA Finals with a depleted team the ensuing season. The four-time MVP showed his dominance by taking down multiple teams in the 2018 playoffs before falling to the star-studded Warriors in the 2018 Finals.

Irving, on the other hand, has yet to make it past the second round of the postseason since being dealt from Cleveland.