Kevin Love and LeBron James may not longer be on the same team, but by chance the two still happened to be sitting together at dinner when Kyrie Irving surprisingly called LeBron James last weekend to apologize.
Here’s what Kyrie Irving told us:
Kyrie Irving says he called LeBron James after the Celtics’ loss to the Magic to apologize for “being that young player that wanted everything at his fingertips.” ? pic.twitter.com/vuSRrPeQlu
— Sports ON Tap (@SONTHighlights) January 17, 2019
Well, apparently when Irving first made the call to LeBron following the Celtics’ loss to the Orlando Magic on Saturday, Love (whose Cavs were in L.A. to take on the Lakers the following night) was out to dinner with James at an Italian restaurant.
Here’s how Love described the moment to The Athletic’s Joe Vardon:
“LeBron looked down at his phone and he showed us,” Love told The Athletic, describing the scene. “He was like, ‘I wonder what he wants?’”
LeBron left to take the call in private.
Love said, “I was 22 once, too.”
“I think Kyrie went through some of the same struggles that I did,” said Love, who was 26 in 2014, when he and James and Irving joined forces. “There were some bad habits and maybe not knowing what it means to sacrifice and take a back seat to someone like a LeBron, who was trying to teach us how to win. I think I’m a much better player now, a much better teammate from having gone through it.”
Kyrie changed the course of history in Cleveland, because he was done with LeBron. Then Irving calls, two seasons later, to apologize? For Cleveland, this is like the worst Last Two Minute report ever.
— Joe Vardon (@joevardon) January 17, 2019