Kyrie Irving wowed basketball fans with both his brilliant play and his head-turning extracurricular activities in the Nets' loss to the Celtics in the first game of their playoff series on Sunday evening.
And just like nearly everyone else who was watching, LeBron James -- arguably Irving's most notable former teammate -- had thoughts on the performance.
The four-time NBA MVP, who is watching this year's playoffs from home after the Lakers failed to qualify for the postseason, published a tweet praising Irving's "INSANE SKILL."
"Young God-rie is so damn good at basketball man!!!" James said. "INSANE SKILL!!"
In a separate tweet, James later lamented that Irving wasn't included in the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team, which was announced last year and formally introduced during All-Star weekend. The 30-year-old Irvin was widely considered one of the list's top snubs.
"Damn shame he ain't Top 75!" James said, with a "facepalm" emoji.
Overall, James' tweets were decidedly complimentary of Irving, an interesting development considering they were reported to have run hot and cold as teammates in Cleveland, where they won an NBA title together.
Irving was later traded to the Celtics at his request, amid reports he wanted a fresh start outside James' long shadow.
All of that seems to be ancient history now, though, and on Sunday Irving was can't-miss TV, between his virtuoso performance and his bird-flipping exchanges with Celtics fans, who have neither forgotten nor forgiven Irving for departing for Brooklyn after assuring them he would re-sign with Boston.
Last month Irving likened Celtics fans to a "scorned girlfriend" after they showered him with boos during a game at TD Garden.
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