Kevin Love was one of the top 10 players in the NBA before he joined forces with LeBron James in Cleveland in 2015. Love was an MVP-caliber talent, but playing next to a four-time MVP in James and a rising star like Kyrie Irving required him to make the most sacrifices to make the Cavaliers a winning team.
It all worked out, as the Cavs made four straight finals appearances after Love joined them, winning the title once in dramatic fashion after overturning the 73-9 Golden State Warriors' 3-1 lead in the 2016 NBA Finals.
However, it wasn't a smooth ride for Love early into his Cleveland career. That included a cryptic tweet from James in 2015, seemingly directed at Love, who used a similar phrase about fitting in during the preseason.
"Stop trying to find a way to FIT-OUT and just FIT-IN. Be a part of something special! Just my thoughts," James tweeted.
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During an appearance on the "Pardon My Take" podcast in 2021, Love admitted he was "hurt" by this tweet.
"That hurt my feelings," Love said.
The video resurfaced on Reddit on Wednesday, garnering NBA fans' attention and leaving some riled up over how Kevin Love caught flak from LeBron James. Fans criticized James for the tweet and the impact it had on Love then, as one Reddit user wrote:
"LeBron's always been a passive aggressive leader. The shoulder check on Spoelstra, David Blatt situation, and this just off the top. No wonder he didn't win unless forming superteams. He just can't inspire role players with his passive aggressiveness. Not a real leader."
Another called out James' leadership:
"LeBron's mostly a great leader but undeniably was passive aggressive in kind of a cringe way when he was frustrated at times throughout his career. Actually, I think passive aggressiveness is pretty much always cringe, but I guess that's just my opinion."
"People act like Lebron is some great leader of men," another user wrote.
One user compared James to Michael Jordan's way of using the media:
"LeBron is a massive capper on twitter. Lol. If MJ kept his mystique refusing to use social media to promote, LeBron is the opposite using it to expose how corny he is and destroy his image."
Kevin Love explained why LeBron James may have used Twitter to express his frustration
Kevin Love took LeBron James' cryptic tweet personally then, but the two seemingly don't have issues now. Love clarified that in the same interview on "Pardon My Take." He also explained why James used X (formerly Twitter) to take shots at him.
"That was only 20-30 games in when that tweet happened," Love said. "I think he (LeBron) was trying to find ways to get the best out of me, get a rise out of me ... There was a lot to that. But since then, Bron's a brother."
Love said he never acknowledged the tweet with James in the locker room. He shrugged it off and focused on his role instead, which proved pivotal to the Cavaliers' success.
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