LeBron James is notorious for the degree of control he has over the players he plays with. How much control he has, however, has been a matter of debate.
Kyrie Irving would know, and he seemingly confirmed a lot of the “LeGM” talk when reminiscing about their time together on the Cleveland Cavaliers in an appearance on the “I Am Athlete” podcast. Irving said he “wasn’t mad at” LeBron for exerting his influence, but he quickly figured out how things worked.
“LeGM” confirmed by Kyrie 🤣
(via @IAMATHLETEpod) https://t.co/TNw7c1oONs
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 21, 2022
“Bron was like, behind the scenes…what’s his nickname that people call him? LeGM?” Irving said. “He put the squad together. I wasn’t mad at him. I was like, ‘Alright, this is how it goes.'”
Irving’s tone was light-hearted, so he may have been exaggerating a bit. Still, there is no denying how much influence James had over the roster during his second stint with Cleveland, and he wasn’t afraid to exert it.
James has faced similar accusations with the Los Angeles Lakers. The organization has insisted that he is not calling the shots, but few really believe that.
