Ty Lue talks about coaching LeBron James in Cleveland and winning a championship, then moving to the Clippers and reaching the conference finals. He pushes back on the idea that his success came only from LeBron, crediting his own adjustments, player buy-in, and the professionalism he learned from his star.
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Man, you one of the best coaches in this league. You know, we've said it before on this show, we say it all the time as far as in-game adjustments. Just talk a little bit about, you know, your philosophy around in-game adjustments. And then when did you notice like, hey bro, I'm kind of nice at this coaching thing? When did that hit?
Man, well, it started back, like you said, you know, Doc and Danny Ainge, gave me my first opportunity. And it started when I played for Doc in 2003 in Orlando. And he told me, he said, listen, T-Lou, when you done playing, you can come coach. I'm like, man, I ain't coaching. You crazy. Like, you know, coaching wasn't in me, you know? Yeah. But when I finished in 2009, like, that's all I knew. And so I give a lot of credit to Doc because like, you know, when we lost a tough game or a hard game, you know, how I just go back and sit in the back of the room when he did media and just listen to how he handled himself and how he handled the media. You know, just all the ATOs at the timeouts, like Doc was, you know, the best in my opinion, you know, back in Boston, just running ATOs. And I was able to learn from Thibodeau, you know, in Boston. Then I learned from Lawrence Frank, you know. And so I had a lot of guys that I could learn from. You take it like, you know, Doc back then was the best coach in the league, you know. Yeah. So you learn it from Doc, you learn it from Thibodeau, who was the best defensive coordinator in the league, learn from Lawrence. And so I had a lot of guys that I learned from. And so I give them a lot of, respect, you know, for me being where I'm at today. But it's hard, you know, it's hard, BD. It's a hard job. You know, as a player, you know, you just kind of basically worry about yourself. You know, as a coach, you got to worry about everybody, the assistants, the medical, the, you know, the equipment managers, the players. And so when you lose a game, you know, you got to go back and look yourself in the mirror and be like, man, what could I have done different? What could I have done better?
Right.
And you know, like it's a, it was a tough grind, but I learned a lot along the way to be in this position and putting a lot of hard work, um, to be in this position. There's a lot of great coaches out there. And so just to be mentioned, you know, in the same breath with a lot of these guys, you know, it means a lot, you know, especially being a young coach.
You said something, um, that I actually wanted to address anyway. Uh, you just said it. You said LeBron get a lot of guys paid. He got me paid. And I wanna ask you about that because Coming in, obviously you take over a team, you go on to win a championship. And a lot of people knew you were great in what you brought in that situation, that even the coach that, you know, you were assistant under couldn't bring. And everybody just knew like there was a specific thing that was gonna be needed. Nobody felt that he had it. No disrespect to him, but everybody felt you had it. In saying that, you come in, you take over a team, obviously Bron's playing, and Bron is always gonna get much deserved credit that he gets. But you said Bron get a lot of us, Bron get a lot of guys paid. He got me paid. A lot of people tried to say that initially, like, "Oh man, he was coaching Bron. Of course he gonna come in and win a championship," as if that's just a given. You then started to be known as, and rightfully so, as one of the best coaches in the league, period. How was it for you to kind of break that tag of, "Yo, he's LeBron's coach." Because, you know, everybody always try to make it a stigma of like, "Oh, he's LeBron's this, he's LeBron's that. He coached Bron, so that's why he won a championship." So much so that even, then the Los Angeles Lakers want to give you a contract that aligns with LeBron's contract. How was it for you to break that stigma of Bron and knowing how great you were, or how great you are, but how great you were as a coach?
I mean, the outside noise really didn't bother me 'cause I don't have social media and I don't really get into all that. You know, everybody has their opinions, but he really helped me. But the biggest thing for me is I sat down with him Kyrie and K-Love. And I told him, this is what I need from you guys. Like, if y'all wanna win, if we wanna win, this is what I need. And I give those 3 guys a lot of credit. But when people say that, you know, Bron's been in the league, what, 21 years? He had 4 championships. So I mean, they act like he won 21 championships. You know what I'm saying? Like, like, you know what I'm saying? He's won, he's won 4 championships. And so, you know, he hasn't won every year. And it sometimes it takes,, you know, a special person or a special situation to get to that point.
Mm-hmm.
Well, like I said, Bron deserves all the credit, but my, what, what fulfilled me was when he came to me and said that, you know, I was a great coach and, you know, one of the best coaches he's ever played for. And so that enough right there meant a lot to me. And so I think, you know, once, you know, he went to, to the Lakers, then I had a chance, I go to the Clippers, I think, and coach that team. We go to the conference finals when Kawhi gets hurt. You know, and I think that's when I finally got my respect. You know, once I, you know, my first year with the Clippers, we go to the conference finals, and I was able to get out from under LeBron's umbrella, you know. But it shouldn't be like that, like you said. And I know that he's brought a lot to me, you know, as a coach, made me better because he's so high on execution, doing things the right way. And you got a guy who's the best player in the world. That had never been late. Like he's the first one, like, you know, shoot around, practice, leave. And then, you know, a lot of times you have guys who of his stature come to the bus 10 minutes late, the plane 20 minutes. Man's never late. Never.
Yeah.
Like respect everybody's time, respect everybody what they're doing. And like I said, without him, like I said, I wouldn't be who I am today because he made you better. Because when I come in and present, you know, a scouting report, how we want to do something, I know that he's not going to miss a beat. And I know I got to be sharp on what I'm doing every single day, every single night, because he doesn't miss a beat, you know. And so he's made me better for sure. So I'm not— I'm always going to give him the credit because, like, he's made me better at who I am. And so hopefully one day he can say, you know what, T. Lou was one of the guys that got me over the top when I got back to Cleveland, you know. And so, um, you know, I give, like I said, all the credit to him. Like I said, Kyrie, K-Love be able to sacrifice, you know, 'cause you gotta think K-Love came from Minnesota where he was the man.
Getting 20 and 20, 30 and 20. Yeah.
30s and 20s. Yeah.
Ask K-Love like, hey man, could, you know, be in a third option, you know, but I'm gonna feature you when you're on the floor outta timeouts, different situations. And for him to buy in like that and to win a championship, like it just says a lot about them and who they are too. But I give, like I said, all the credit to Bron, but for making me a better coach, you know, every step of the way.
No, I think that's dope. And I respect it because again, to have the influence, to have the impact that Bron has, obviously, you know, it's a great platform, but then you have to be capable of living it like on that platform. Like you can't, because if you're not capable, You get swallowed up fast in anything that he's involved in. And it was like the same thing with Rich. I think the same thing with Mav, you know, where all the guys that has grown with him in a certain aspect, it's like, oh, they're only this because of him. But it's like, nah, A, there were some people along the way that weren't able to take advantage of that opportunity, right? B, they don't get to the situation without being special anyway, you know? And, and you know, when Rich first started Klutch, it's like, "Oh, he's LeBron's agent." Like, "Oh, he's only—" And it's like, no, I've, I've actually built the best sports agency in the business. And you, to see you kind of break that same stigma in your own way. Thank you.
Thank you.
Yeah. Like Rich, like you said, what he's built, what Mav has built, you know, what I continue to go on and build, You know, but it's all, like I said, it stems from LeBron. But just because I give you a million dollars and tell you to invest it, that don't mean you gonna make the right investments. You know what I mean? Like I could be broke in 2 years or I can make, I can have $10 million in 2 years, you know? So like, what you do with it. And that's what I say about LeBron because, you know, when they fired Coach Black, they could have went with anybody.
Mm-hmm.
And Bron had the, you know, had the confidence in me, you know, to say, you know what? Nah, you know, I like T-Luke, you know? And so that says a lot.
That's big, yo.
That's big.
That says a lot. That's huge. You know, 38 years old to, you know, step in there and, you know, fill some big shoes. 'Cause like I said, Coach Black went to the NBA Finals the year before. And when I took over halfway through the season, we was the number one team in the East. You know, that was a lot that came with it too, you know? So, but like I said, for those guys that had a belief in me to do it, you know, it says a lot. So I'm happy about that. Thank you.
