LeBron: Kyrie's mindset improved after becoming a dad
When LeBron James made the decision to take his talents back to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, he cited Kyrie Irving's potential to be great as one of the reasons.
That prophecy has been fulfilled, especially over the past year.
"From the first day on, he's been getting better and better and better like I've stated over time," James told Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. "This is Year 3 for us and he's just a much better, complete basketball player from a mental side."
Coming off a summer that saw Irving win both a championship with the Cavs and a gold medal in Rio with Team USA, the 24-year-old point guard has emerged as a premier scorer in the NBA, and a leader on his club.
It's what James hoped would happen in Cleveland, and soon, as he didn't want to waste his prime years. The 31-year-old has watched his teammate mature both on and off the court, and believes the timing isn't a coincidence since Irving became a dad a year ago.
"Obviously he's a father now so you have to grow up as a person," James, a father of three himself, explained. "Any one of us, when you become a father you have to understand that it's not just about you anymore you have to be responsible for your child.
"And just the everyday work ethic of him saying, 'OK now we're in a position where we can compete and we can really compete for what I've been hoping for my whole life and that's a championship.' His mindset had to change and it did change."
Of course, Cleveland managed to capture the franchise's first championship - while also ending the city's 52-year title drought - in June, after overcoming a 3-1 Finals deficit against the Golden State Warriors.
The Cavaliers aren't letting up in their title defense, starting the campaign 13-2 atop the Eastern Conference.
Irving has been instrumental to the club's success. He's gotten the green light from head coach Tyronn Lue to attack defenses and score. He leads the team with 24.8 points per game, while shooting 49 percent from the field and 43.3 percent from long range - all career highs.
And he doesn't just score. The three-time All-Star is as flashy as it gets with his sick handles and ability to sink clutch and contested baskets. The new dad credits his own pops for his prowess clowning defenders.
"I've learned a lot from my dad," Irving said. "He put the ball in my crib. As cliche as that is, but he did it. He gave me a lot of fundamentals that I can definitely utilize today but where I'm from in Jersey and New York, it's about the one-on-one competition and the crowd getting into it and they want to see one-on-one play, so I grew up around that culture and now I get to utilize it in the NBA."