Cleveland, OH
Iman Shumpert Claims Kyrie Irving Left The Cavaliers To Beat LeBron James
Former NBA guard Iman Shumpert played an important role in the Cavaliers securing their only championship in franchise history. He was there to help them win it all, and he was there to watch it fall apart when Kyrie Irving forced a trade to the Celtics in 2017. In a recent appearance on ‘Club Shay Shay,’ the former Cavs guard broke down what really pushed Irving out of Cleveland, and why he wasn’t surprised that he wanted to leave.
“Hell nah. Kyrie is a Kobe guy,” said Shumpert. “Kyrie wanted to beat LeBron, and that’s okay. People like to say ‘Oh, that was dumb’ because you’re a team-up kind of guy. That’s not Kyrie. Kyrie is like ‘The only way I can be crowned the best is if I beat the best. I got to go head-to-head with you; I can’t team up with you.”
It’s easy to forget now, but Irving was once the star of the show in Cleveland. In the years before LeBron’s arrival, he was the only hope for the Cavaliers and was treated like an MVP because of it. When LeBron arrived, all that changed, and it was something that Irving never fully accepted.
“Let’s say you got your momma’s crib. And then they just bring you a new brother,” Shumpert added. “Then your momma’s like ‘Well, you were the one to get the house key and do whatever you want, but now you don’t get to drive the car.’ For people not to understand that’s what happened, and then be like ‘Oh, he should have put his pride to the side.’ Why?”
Irving didn’t leave the Cavaliers because he hated LeBron. He left because he wanted to do his own thing and build his legacy outside No. 23’s shadow. As a longtime Kobe fan, he’s competitive at heart and would rather go against his competitors than join forces with them.
So while Irving made the most of his stint with James (one championship in three Finals appearances with the Cavs), he was never in it for the long haul. Playing alongside LeBron was something he never signed up for, even though he remains on good terms with the basketball legend today.
Shumpert Gets Real On Playing With LeBron
Irving ended his partnership with James early, and it’s something critics still talk about today. When people often forget, however, is that it’s not so easy to play with the King. Besides his enormous presence, he holds everyone accountable with his sky-high basketball IQ. In the end, however, it’s all for the best as he makes everyone better on the court.
“He is Chat GPT of the NBA,” said Shumpert on James. “This is the best way I could describe [him]. You can ask him anything, he knows. He knows the coaches, he knows the assistant coaches, he knows the player development coach. I don’t even have the mental capacity for all that sh*t. It took about a month for me to get used to him saying ‘X1, X2, X3, X4,’ he is really programmed for this. I never dealt with somebody who had the balls enough to look a coach in the eye and say, ‘I’m not running that.’”
James doesn’t just dominate with his physical skill and size. He uses his mind to get ahead of opponents and exploit their biggest flaws. With an unmatched mental game, James frequently outsmarts the enemy, and it’s the secret to his unprecedented NBA longevity.
In the end, Kyrie got to experience the best of both worlds. He played and won with LeBron James in the city where he was drafted. It taught him a lot and put his name in the history books. But Kyrie wanted more, and going out on his own was the best way to ensure he could play out his career on his own terms.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Three people were seriously injured after a car crash on I-90 at Eddy Road early Sunday morning, according to Cleveland EMS.
EMS told 19 News that paramedics responded to the I-90 West and Eddy Road for a car crash.
Paramedics took a man in his 60s in serious condition to Metro Health, a man in his 30s and a woman in her 20s, both in serious condition, to University Hospital.
19 News has reached out to Cleveland Police for more details about the crash.
This is a developing story. Return to 19 News for more details.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
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A well-balanced effort and a huge second half from the Cleveland Cavaliers stars allowed them to dominate the Toronto Raptors 126-113 for the first playoff win of the year.
Here are the winners and losers of the first playoff game of the year for Cleveland.
Winners
Max Strus
Oh, did Max Strus miss over 65 games this year while dealing with injury he sustained in the offseason? You would have never noticed based on how he played in game one.
He was the difference maker off the bench in 24 minutes. He scored 24 points on 80% shooting. He was the clutch man at the end of the first half with four points in 30 seconds, then took over in the third by scoring eight straight.
Kenny Atkinson made a strong push to get Strus back in the rotation before playoffs and it’s showing why. He’ll be the X-factor all postseason long.
Cleveland’s starting bigs
The Cavaliers started the game looking to get Jarrett Allen touches inside the paint on the first four possessions of the game. He set the tone early by playing bully ball, throwing down a few hard dunks and showing Cleveland wanted to win the paint.
Allen cooled off but what he did early opened up the lanes for James Harden to drive in and create open shots on the perimeter. Then as Toronto tried to take that away, Evan Mobley took over in the paint.
Cleveland can win this series in the paint as the Raptors don’t have enough size to keep pace with this brand of basketball. Harden can unlock a new layer from bigs, it showed it the regular season and it’s showing now.
Mobley finished with 17 points and seven rebounds and Allen had 10 with seven boards.
The James Harden trade
Plenty of people doubted how effective Harden would be in the playoffs. He hasn’t had much success since he was a bench player for the Thunder.
This game was peak Harden. He got to be the playmaker instead of the scorer and it opened Cleveland’s offense up. As stated, the big got involved in a big way. The role players were able to find their shots.
He just freezes the game in a unique way. He knows when to throw a lob, when to pass out, when to shoot a floater and when to get creative.
Harden also helped Donovan Mitchell play an efficient game. Mitchell has always been able to score in the postseason, but often has had to sacrifice his efficiency. With Harden around Mitchell will know he is another star who can score when needed, but will focus on getting everyone else involved.
Harden finished with 22 points and 10 assists while Mitchell had 32 points. Meanwhile, the Clippers couldn’t make it out of the play-in and Los Angeles saw some of the frustration with Darius Garland’s inconsistency.
Losers
Jaylon Tyson
Cleveland found a role for 10 guys in this first game which was something they weren’t expected to do in the playoffs. Many expected Dennis Schroder or Keon Ellis to be the odd man out of the rotation.
Instead Tyson looked like someone playing in his first career playoff game, which is exactly what he is. In just 13 minutes he had four fouls. He shot 0/4, only hitting a pair of free throws. He turned the ball over once and really got his defense exposed at times.
Tyson’s role in the rotation could be in serious jeopardy. Ellis and Shroder didn’t have great days either, but both helped keep the offense smooth and played solid enough defense. Tyson should have some more opportunities to prove himself, but the leash gets shorter in the postseason.
Toronto’s guards without Quickley
Without Immanuel Quickley out there, the Cavaliers had a clear mismatch to exploit in the backcourt.
Now RJ Barrett and Jamal Shead still managed to put up some points, Barrett scored 24 and Shead scored 17, but neither got the offense going and neither could stop Mitchell and Harden on defense.
Barrett and Shead combined to dish out just five assists. Most of their passing had to come from the front court. That is a major weakness for Toronto right now.
Things got worse with Ja’Kobe Walter and AJ Lawson. Both guys struggled hard defensively and allowed Cleveland to bully with their stars.
If Quickley is out for the rest of the series, Cleveland will have plenty of chances to end this in four games.
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