Although they aren't as close as they once were, Johnny Manziel remains appreciative of the effort LeBron James made to help him succeed during his time in Cleveland.

Manziel spoke about his relationship with the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar during an interview with Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" podcast, acknowledging the two haven't spoken since he was released by the Browns in 2016.

"The guy couldn't have tried anymore," Manziel said of James, per 247 Sports' Josh Edwards. "I remember whenever I was going through my NCAA scandal if you want to call it at A&M. Every day, I would get up and go to training camp and Bron would text me like every day. 'Just keep your head up, don't worry about anything all the outside noise.'

"At this point in time, I was just 20 years old, I didn't know how to handle the national media pressure and spotlight without checking Twitter and letting it get in my head or seeing it on a website. He tried super hard to just keep me grounded and keep me focused on that. I think that was really the start of our relationship."

Manziel said a lot of his bitterness stemmed from being drafted lower than he expected (No. 22 overall in 2014) and he feels like he "never really gave Cleveland a chance" because of that.

"When I got to Cleveland, LeBron tried his best. Him and the guys used to invite me over to his house and want to play cards or just watch a game," Manziel said. "My first six, seven months in Cleveland, I went to practice, I would go out some nights and I would go home. I hardly did anything. I hardly went to any Cavs games. I was just in a funk that I couldn't really get out of and didn't give it much of a chance."