LeBron James says Kyrie Irving’s comments implying lack of faith in late-game abilities ‘hurt me a little bit’

Months ago, LeBron James bit his tongue when Kyrie Irving‘s comments on Kevin Durant‘s podcast seemed to disparage the Los Angeles Lakers star’s late-game abilities. Now James has opened up about his former teammate’s take on a podcast appearance of his own.

James, appearing as a guest on the Road Trippin’ podcast with Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye and Allie Clifton, addressed Irving’s comments — in which Irving praised Durant as the first teammate he could trust to take the last shot at the end of the game as much as he trusts himself — in an episode that aired Monday on Spectrum SportsNet.

“I was a little like, ‘Damn.’ Once I got the whole transcript, I was like, ‘Damn,'” James said, adding that he made sure to read Irving’s full comments before reacting to them. “I wasn’t like, ‘Oh, you trippin’, I’ve hit game-winning shots my whole life.’ I was not like that. I was like,…