Why Dillon Brooks Was Uncomfortable but Not Wrong and Why Kobe Bryant Was the Shadow Neither Superstar Could Escape
INTRODUCTION: THE GREAT NBA BREAKUP THAT NEVER STOPS HAUNTING THE LEAGUE
Some NBA storylines fade with time. This one didn’t. Nearly a decade after the collapse of the LeBron JamesKyrie Irving partnership in Cleveland, the breakup still stands as one of the league’s most dissected, relitigated, and emotionally charged sagas. Every few months, something happens a quote, an interview, a new clip, a fan debate, a new superstar pairing gone wrong and suddenly the entire NBA world is back in 2017, debating who was right, who was wrong, and what could have been.
But lately, one new element has reignited the discussion in a way nobody expected:
The same Dillon Brooks who became the league’s favorite villain, the guy who poked the bear, the guy who made LeBron angry in the 2023 playoffs and got cooked for it. The NBA mocked him, fans dragged him, media analysts sneered at him.
Yet buried beneath his trash talk was a statement that, at the time, felt reckless, stupid, and disrespectful.
Now?
Years later?
Looking back with clearer eyes? It feels a lot less wrong. Because when Dillon Brooks said LeBron expects players to “bow down and kiss his a**,” he unintentionally touched the exact nerve that destroyed one of the greatest duos in modern basketball. He stumbled into the truth.
A truth Kyrie Irving lived.
A truth J.R. Smith hinted at.
A truth Kevin Love danced around.
A truth the Cavs front office privately acknowledged.
A truth nobody wanted to say out loud at the time.
LeBron James’s leadership brilliant, demanding, suffocating, and king like clashed head on with Kyrie Irving’s desire to be free, respected, and independent.
This wasn’t a simple basketball disagreement.
It was philosophical.
Emotional. Identity driven. Inevitable. And it has everything to do with Kobe Bryant. Because while the world kept trying to paint LeBron as Kyrie’s mentor, Kyrie never saw him that way. Kyrie already had a hero. Already had a blueprint. Already had a standard for greatness. And it wasn’t LeBron.
It was Kobe Bryant the Mamba whose mentality shaped Kyrie far more than anyone realized.
That’s why the first phone call Kyrie made after hitting the most iconic shot in Cleveland Cavaliers history… wasn’t to LeBron, or his family, or his teammates.
It was to Kobe.
And that is the detail the emotional, psychological detail that breaks open the entire story.This is the truth behind the breakup.
The uncomfortable truth.
Dillon Brooks was more right than anyone wants to admit.
CHAPTER 1: THE MYTH OF “BIG BROTHER LEBRON” AND WHY KYRIE IRVING NEVER BELIEVED IT
For years, the narrative surrounding Kyrie Irving and LeBron James was simple:
* LeBron returned to Cleveland to mentor Kyrie.
* Kyrie was the little brother.
* LeBron was the wise veteran.
* Kyrie should have been grateful.
* Kyrie should have embraced the role.
* Kyrie should have “bowed down” metaphorically, of course to the King.
The problem?
Kyrie never agreed to that script.
Not privately.
Not psychologically.
Not emotionally.
Because when LeBron returned to Cleveland in 2014, Kyrie was not some kid needing guidance. He was already:
* A No. 1 pick
* A franchise star
* A two time All Star
* The MVP of Team USA
* The best ball handler in the world
* A certified 25 points per game scorer
* A player the Cavs had literally given the keys to
But more importantly:
He idolized someone who never needed a “big brother.”
Kobe Bryant didn’t bow to Shaq.
Kobe didn’t bow to Phil Jackson.
Kobe didn’t bow to anyone.
So why would Kobe’s student bow to LeBron?
This is the part nobody understood at the time.
LeBron’s fans didn’t get it.
Cavs media didn’t get it.
Even the organization didn’t fully grasp it.
Kyrie was wired as an alpha not a supporting actor.
He wanted partnership, not hierarchy.
Respect, not paternalism.
But LeBron has never functioned that way.
LeBron operates in a “kingdom.”
Kyrie wanted a “duality.”
These two things cannot coexist peacefully.
Not for long.
CHAPTER 2: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RESPECT AND SUBMISSION
This is where Dillon Brooks’s infamous statement enters the picture.
When Brooks said LeBron expects players to “bow down,” he wasn’t saying LeBron demands literal worship. He was describing an NBA cultural dynamic around LeBron: a longstanding, unspoken expectation that teammates, staff members, young players, opponents everyone should defer to him.
And why wouldn’t they?
He’s LeBron.
But to someone like Kyrie Irving someone Kobe had treated like a peer, someone who already saw himself as a future top tier superstar this dynamic felt suffocating.
Let’s break down the difference:
RESPECT
* “You’re great. I’m great. Let’s elevate each other.”
* What Kobe practiced with prime Shaq (even when they fought).
* What Kyrie wanted with LeBron.
* What true co stars enjoy.
SUBMISSION
* “You’re great. I accept my place beneath you.”
* What LeBron’s leadership structure tends to create.
* What many of his teammates eventually chafe against.
* What Kyrie refused to give.
Even Kyrie’s personality rebellious, artistic, introspective makes him the last person on earth willing to be someone else’s “little brother.”
Kyrie respects greatness.
But he bows to nobody.
Because that’s exactly how Kobe raised him.
CHAPTER 3: THE KOBE FACTOR THE MENTOR WHO SHAPED KYRIE’S ENTIRE IDENTITY
You cannot understand the Kyrie LeBron breakup without understanding the Kobe shadow that loomed over everything.
Kyrie wasn’t just a Kobe fan.
He was Kobe’s spiritual successor.
They trained together.
They talked late at night.
They shared a mentality most players cannot relate to.
Kobe called Kyrie “one of the most skilled players ever.”
Kyrie told Kobe he wanted to “take your throne.”
LeBron’s style was political, narrative driven, image-conscious.
Kobe’s style was ruthless individualism.
A killer’s mindset.
A code of honor that demanded self belief above all else.
Kyrie inherited that code.
And that’s why the most important detail of the 2016 Finals wasn’t the block, or the shot, or the celebration. It was the moment after it all ended when the noise faded and the champagne flowed and Cleveland partied like never before.
Kyrie Irving slipped out and called Kobe.
Not LeBron.
Not his dad.
Not his teammates.
Kobe.
Because for Kyrie, THAT was the person he wanted validation from.
THAT was the person he considered his mentor.
LeBron wasn’t the big brother.
He was the co star.
A temporary partner.
A brilliant basketball ally, not a spiritual one.
This isn’t disrespectful.
It’s human.
Kyrie’s loyalty was with a man who understood him.
A man who didn’t expect submission.
A man who loved Kyrie’s hunger, ego, stubbornness, and brilliance.
Kobe didn’t want a “little brother.”
He wanted a rival in training.
This is the mentality LeBron’s leadership could not coexist with.
CHAPTER 4: WHY THE 2016 TITLE DIDN’T BRING THEM CLOSER
You’d think that winning the greatest championship in NBA history would bring two superstars together.
Instead, it confirmed their differences.
For LeBron, the 2016 title was HIS crowning moment.
The comeback.
The legacy booming through the clouds.
The 3-1 miracle.
His defining triumph.
For Kyrie?
It was proof that he didn’t need to be anyone’s little brother.
He hit the shot.
The biggest shot in Cavaliers history.
One of the biggest in NBA Finals history.
Kyrie didn’t feel validated by LeBron’s leadership.
He felt validated by his own greatness.
And that’s where everything broke.
Because once Kyrie realized he was not beneath LeBron…
LeBron realized he could not “lead” Kyrie in the same way he led previous teammates.
This dynamic instantly sent the relationship into turbulence.
CHAPTER 5: THE BUILDUP SMALL TENSIONS THAT EXPLODED LATER
People think the breakup started in 2017.
Wrong.
It started immediately after 2016.
Here are the moments nobody talked about:
1. LeBron Pressuring the Front Office Publicly
LeBron kept using media pressure to influence roster decisions something Kobe never did and something Kyrie hated.
Kyrie saw this as political, manipulative, and unnecessary.
2. The “Father Figure” Narrative
Media kept pushing:
* “LeBron is teaching Kyrie.”
* “Kyrie is learning how to lead.”
* “Kyrie is in the shadow.”
Kyrie resented every storyline like this.
3. LeBron Calling Himself “The Father Figure”
LeBron once referred to himself as the “father figure” of the team.
Kyrie?
Had already said publicly: “I don’t need a father. I have one.”
That wasn’t a shot at LeBron but it revealed exactly why their philosophies clashed.
4. Kyrie Wanted to Grow LeBron Needed Control
When you play with LeBron, you inherit:
* His pace
* His system
* His media machine
* His expectations
* His orbit
Most players accept this.
Kyrie wanted freedom.
And you cannot have both.
CHAPTER 6: THE BREAKUP AND THE TRUTH NOBODY ADMITTED PUBLICLY
When Kyrie requested a trade in 2017, the world acted like he had committed a crime against basketball.
“How dare he leave LeBron?”
“Why would he abandon greatness?”
“Why wouldn’t he want to be Robin?”
The answer is simple:
He never saw himself as Robin.
That’s the entire story.
He wasn’t leaving LeBron.
He was leaving the role that was being forced onto him.
Kyrie wanted:
* Autonomy
* Leadership
* Identity
* His own path
* His own system
* His own destiny
LeBron wanted:
* Structure
* Hierarchy
* Control
* Trust
* Loyalty
* Submission to a proven model
These are two perfectly valid but incompatible approaches.
So Kyrie left.
Not out of jealousy.
Not out of immaturity.
Not out of disrespect.
Out of self preservation.
CHAPTER 7: WHY DILLON BROOKS ACCIDENTALLY TOLD THE TRUTH
When Dillon Brooks said LeBron expects players to “bow down,” he wasn’t wrong he was just too blunt.
LeBron’s presence has an aura.
A gravitational pull.
A cultural expectation.
When you join a LeBron team, you are entering LeBron’s world:
LeBron’s pace.
LeBron’s system.
LeBron’s narrative.
LeBron’s leadership.
LeBron’s spotlight.
LeBron’s empire.
Many players thrive in this.
Some even flourish because of it.
But players who see themselves as equals not followers eventually clash with it.
Dwyane Wade and LeBron worked only because Wade chose to hand LeBron the keys.
Kyrie never would.
Kyrie never could.
Kyrie never wanted to.
And that’s where Brooks’s comment hits the truth:
LeBron’s greatness demands a level of deference that alpha minded players resist.
CHAPTER 8: THE KOBE/LEBRON DYNAMIC THAT KYRIE GOT CAUGHT IN
Here’s the fuller truth:
Kobe represented everything Kyrie saw in himself.
LeBron represented everything the world expected Kyrie to be.
Kobe = identity
LeBron = responsibility
Kobe = individual greatness
LeBron = systemic greatness
Kobe = “Be your own man.”
LeBron = “Buy into the system.”
Kyrie chose Kobe.
Which means he chose self belief over the throne.
He chose independence over structure.
He chose personal greatness over basketball monarchy.
And that’s why the breakup was inevitable.
CHAPTER 9: THE AFTERMATH YEARS LATER, WHO WAS RIGHT?
Time has changed the narrative.
Kyrie has matured.
LeBron has aged gracefully.
The media no longer attacks Kyrie for leaving.
Players openly admit LeBron is difficult to play with.
Superstars now understand why Kyrie wanted freedom.
Younger players relate more to Kyrie’s mentality.
Kobe’s death reshaped public opinion about Kobe’s influence.
And Dillon Brooks’s comments, once mocked…
now sound less outrageous.
Because the truth is:
Both men were right.
Both men were wrong.
Both men were themselves.
LeBron leads the only way he knows how.
Kyrie rebels the only way he knows how.
But the relationship was doomed the moment the world tried to force them into a big brother little brother box Kyrie never agreed to.
CHAPTER 10: WHAT THIS BREAKUP TAUGHT THE NBA
This saga changed the league.
Players understand now:
* Being great doesn’t mean being subordinate.
* Alpha energy must be respected, not contained.
* Not every superstar fits inside someone else’s empire.
* Leadership is not one size fits all.
* Greatness is not worship it’s partnership.
And most importantly:
Some players are Kobe minded.
They don’t bow.
To anyone.
Ever.
Kyrie Irving is one of them.
CONCLUSION: THE CROWN NEVER FIT AND IT NEVER WOULD
So was Dillon Brooks right?
In a way… yes.
Not in the disrespectful, malicious tone he used but in the underlying dynamic:
LeBron James expects a level of deference that Kyrie Irving never wanted to give.
Not because Kyrie hated LeBron.
Not because he lacked appreciation.
Not because he was immature.
Not because he resented greatness.
Because Kyrie believed he WAS greatness.
Because Kobe told him he was.
Because Kyrie wasn’t meant to be a prince in someone else’s kingdom.
He was meant to build his own.
And that’s the real story the NBA never wanted to tell.