Kyrie Irving Appears to Take Shot at LeBron James Over Controversial Partnership With Multi-Billion Company

LeBron James is facing heavy criticism after surprisingly signing with the crypto prediction market platform Polymarket. According to sources, James signed a two-year deal worth $8 million with the platform, in which he will provide weekly NFL predictions.

Apparently, fans and analysts alike don't like the idea of an active NBA player hopping on such a platform. It's as if James is promoting the idea of sports betting or anything of a similar nature. Since signing with Polymarket, fellow NBA star Kyrie Irving seemingly took shots at James for joining the company. A fan on social media posted a screenshot of Kyrie reposting another fan's post on X, which reads:

"I miss when there was a stigma to selling out."

Despite a plethora of fans already hopping on sports betting for a while now, there are still those who dislike the idea of disrupting the flow of sports because of game fixing.

While Irving hasn't made any statements regarding James' partnership with Polymarket, we wouldn't be surprised if he dislikes his former teammates' most recent business decision.

For one, it's quite baffling to see how LeBron has sided with the very thing he hates. Back in 2023, the King was vocal about sports betting and criticized it for "taking some of the integrity out of the game." Fast forward three years, and he's about to do the very thing he said he hated.

Kyrie Irving and LeBron James' Relationship Through the Years

Back in 2014, LeBron James made his huge comeback to his hometown in Cleveland. Rejoining the Cavaliers meant that Kyrie Irving, the sole star player at the time, had to share the spotlight with the King and the addition of Kevin Love.

James' return to Cleveland turned out to be fruitful as it led to a huge championship victory in 2016. Despite the success the team had, Irving was tired of playing in the shadow of LeBron and shockingly requested a trade to the Boston Celtics. This is when their issues with each other began.

Older sources noted how James reportedly felt blindsided by the trade and was hurt by how Irving wasn't grateful for the success they'd established with the Cavs.

Since playing for the Celtics up until he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie had strong negative emotions towards his time in Cleveland, specifically when LeBron made his return. He wanted to prove that he could carry his own team and lead them to a championship. Unfortunately for Irving, he never accomplished his ultimate goal, even when he teamed up with Kevin Durant and James Harden in Brooklyn.

During the latter part of Kyrie's stint with the Nets, he slowly came to a realization of how difficult LeBron's job was when he led him to a title win in 2016. Previous sources reported that Irving made a phone call to James in 2019 to formally apologize and explain how he had finally realized the challenges that came with leading a team.

Since then, LeBron and Kyrie have reportedly been on good terms. Both NBA stars would often acknowledge how impactful each one was in their careers. However, given that James has "sold out" to sports betting and signed a multi-year deal with Polymarket, we're not entirely sure how this would affect Irving's point of view of the King.