LeBron James had an interesting relationship with his Cleveland Cavaliers head coach, Tyronn Lue. At times, the two seemed to be at odds but in the end, they were a match made in heaven. The two eventually won a championship together back in 2016 when LeBron came back from 3-1 down against the Golden State Warriors. It was a series to remember that will forever be cemented in NBA history as one of the best Finals series ever.
In a recent article from Joe Vardon of The Athletic, Lue spoke about his time with the Cavaliers and divulged on an incredible story from Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. As Lue explained, LeBron got heated during halftime as Lue told him he needed to be better.
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“You gotta guard Draymond Green, stop turning the ball over, be aggressive, shoot the ball, be aggressive,” Lue said. “And I walked into the coach’s office. And this is what everybody told me. He grabbed (Damon Jones) and said, ‘Man, your boy’s trippin.’ And D. Jones said, ‘I’ve been in the G League, I haven’t been here all year, but everything I read in the paper about how much you trust T. Lue, how much you love T. Lue as a coach, why not trust him now?’”
Lue said LeBron had a similar sentiment for James Jones who agreed with Lue’s assessment.
“And then he went out and dominated the second half,” Lue said. “After the game, ’Bron said to me, ‘You know how to push my buttons, don’t you?’” “Yeah, motherf***er,” LeBron quipped back.
If it weren’t for Ty Lue’s button-pushing, who knows what would have happened in the second half? Maybe LeBron wouldn’t have that third ring.
