The NBA’s business side brought Iman Shumpert to Cleveland in 2015, but his heart was still in the Big Apple. The Cavaliers’ first championship run was built at the cost of the iconic KnicksTape era in New York. Yet teaming up with LeBron James, with a high likelihood of winning a ring, didn’t end the friendship between Shumpert and Carmelo Anthony. A decade after he helped bring the banner to Cleveland, he still hilariously blames Anthony for the chemistry issues.

“I was forced to hate him,” Shumpert revealed his self-imposed vow on Club Shay Shay. “It’s like, ‘Bro, I just been trained to be Melo’s homie.’ Like, you and Melo are homies, but I’m not supposed to be your homie, right?”

You couldn’t blame Shumpert. The ‘Knicks vs. Heat rivalry’ of the early 2010s, when James led Miami to two titles, created a tribalistic atmosphere. He carried the belief that befriending the opposition felt like a betrayal of his franchise centerpiece, Anthony, even if he was no longer a part of the Knicks.

Shumpert made no secret of the fact that dysfunction was the theme of the Cavaliers’ 2016 championship run. It was a far cry from the chemistry he had with J.R. Smith and Anthony for his first four NBA seasons. He laughs about it now, but it posed a major mental struggle when he went from being James’ arch-rival to his teammate.

“If I was out and about one day in the summer, and I’m just out hanging with Bron, I feel like Melo would be looking at that like, ‘What’s up with you?'” Shumpert said.

However, Shumpert’s cold principle thawed quickly once he began reaping the benefits of James’ elite skills.

“Once you’re on the court with him and he’s just out there making it easy for you, you just be like, ‘Melo, he ain’t so bad, bro,'” Shumpert said with a smirk. “‘He passes that s— though, for real. Like, we get money over here.'”

This realization marked a turning point for Shumpert. He swapped old-school loyalty for the reality of his new championship-chasing environment.

Why Iman Shumpert’s transition to the LeBron James model was tough

Ironically, Iman Shumpert was putting too much weight on it. Carmelo Anthony was able to put aside the rivalry with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade when they played on the 2008 Redeem Team.

The Miami Big 3 era ended with James’ return to Cleveland. But the shakeup in the East was further solidified when Anthony’s primary teammates, Shumpert and Smith, were shipped from a struggling Knicks roster to join James and Kyrie Irving in Cleveland.

At the time, Anthony was the undisputed face of New York hoops, and Shumpert had served as his defensive enforcer for nearly four seasons. To date, the latter has never gotten over this trade.

He went from the KnicksTape culture to a team where James dictated the locker room, while Irving fought for a bigger role. The undeniable success of the Cavaliers’ system, which saw Shumpert play a vital role in the historic 2016 NBA Finals comeback, guarding Stephen Curry, eventually resolved this internal conflict. He averaged only 6.5 points per game in Cleveland but was a defensive wall on the perimeter (something James could desperately use in LA right now).

Today, Shumpert’s forced hatred has turned into personal reverence for James. Although he’d tell him to his face that he is not above Michael Jordan, his admiration for the Akron Hammer is not subtle.

“It took me a month to get used to him saying X1, X2, X3, X4,” Shumpert said of adjusting to James in Cleveland. “I’m like, ‘Bro, stop.’ He is really programmed for this.”

Shumpert’s emphasis on an unwritten social contract is hilarious now because Anthony didn’t have any problems teaming up with James at the end of his career, not to mention the hilarious Banana Boat Group breakout, too. But at least they can joke about it now.