Quinn Cook had a great career for a player who went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft. One of his first opportunities in the league came when he signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2015 Summer League. Cook revealed that Kyrie Irving let him live with him and use his cars to get to training, where Cook bumped into LeBron James, who was arriving hours before everyone to lift weights.
“I had a conversation with Gilbert Arenas the night before training camp. He said, ‘Only thing I’ll tell you young fella is that practice is at 10, make sure you make it there no later than 7. I was staying at Kyrie’s house, he gave me one of his cars so I could leave early (for training). I get in Ky’s car and drive about 30 minutes to the facility. i go to the kitchen to get breakfast… As I’m coming out, I hear a grunting noise. Somebody was working out… I go to the weight room and LeBron is in full sweat. Drenched. Practice is at 10 o’clock. This is Bron in 2015, Four MVPs and two rings later, still working like he’s trying to make the team, like I am.”
Quinn Cook reveals that Kyrie Irving provided him with a place to stay and a car during his rookie season✊
(🎥 @jefeisland / @samokauruhttps://t.co/dOyhfmcaX5) pic.twitter.com/MKXYTobrcu
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) January 4, 2024
Cook wouldn’t make the roster for that Cavaliers team, a shame because that ended up being the 2015-16 Cavaliers roster that overcame a 3-1 deficit in the 2016 NBA Finals.
He would float around on 10-day contracts with different NBA teams and the G League till 2017, when he finally secured a roster spot on the Golden State Warriors. This led to Cook being a part of the title-winning 2018 Warriors roster. He would also win a title with the 2020 Lakers, a year where he was reunited with LeBron.
He’s currently on the Wisconsin Herd roster but hasn’t been playing. Nowadays, he’s appearing in videos for big NBA content creators.
His career may be winding down, but retiring with two championships playing alongside the three greatest stars of this era (LeBron, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant) is quite an awesome career for someone who went undrafted.
The LeBron James And Kyrie Irving Duo Was Short-Lived
The relationship between LeBron and Kyrie was very strained during their shared time on the Cavaliers. Kyrie was drafted by the franchise one season after LeBron had left for the Miami Heat. Irving got used to carrying the team for the first few years until James returned in 2014 and Kyrie had to accept a secondary role, which led to one of the greatest championship wins in 2016.
However, the vibe of the team wasn’t as positive in the 2017 season, with role-player Larry Sanders revealing the internal disconnect between the team’s two stars.
“The team had many issues. There were a lot of internal issues. We didn’t know if LeBron James and Kyrie Irving were leaving. They had the scuffle between LeBron and Tristan Thompson. There was a lot of stuff going on internally. I remember being in the midst of it and I’m like the seventh or eighth project they have. I don’t think they knew what to do with anybody.”
Kyrie left the franchise in 2017 for the Celtics, while James carried the Cavs to another Finals before leaving himself. The wounds of their Cavs tenure have been healed, with James advocating to team up with Kyrie on the Lakers for the last two seasons.
