LeBron James might be the best player in the game right now, but his reputation as a “coach killer” is again evident during their previous games. Throughout his historic career, LeBron has set a myriad of records that will be nearly impossible for other players to achieve. He is a once-in-a-lifetime player and has cemented himself as part of the Mt. Rushmore in the NBA. However, we can’t disregard that he has tantrums which have led to some conflict with some coaches.
Acknowledging The King
The King will go down as the most scrutinised player in league history.
He was able to leapfrog some of his challenges, but it wasn’t that easy. Among LeBron’s accolades is being named as regular season MVP (4x), Finals MVP (3x), NBA Champion (3x) and NBA All-Star (14x). Probably, the biggest hurdle in his career is chasing the ghost of Michael Jordan. Being compared to the 'Greatest of All Time' is not an easy task. He has a chance at it, but he has a small window in doing it. LeBron is now in his 16th year and as great as he is father time will eventually catch him.
History of being the 'Coach Killer'
Going back on why he is tagged as a “coach killer”, ever since he joined the league, he has had more than five head coaches fired. To be fair, all of the blame should not on his shoulders, however, basing on ex-teammates and scouts, LeBron has full control over who he chooses to be on his team.
The situation that happened to former Cavs coach David Blatt is a perfect example. They reached the finals in their first season and were going strong in their sophomore season, unfortunately, Blatt was still fired because LeBron didn’t want him.
Eventually, Blatt was replaced by assistant coach Tyronn Lue. They might have brought a championship to Cleveland together, but they’ve also had some differences.
How many times have we seen LeBron not listening or even in the huddle when Ty Lue was drawing up a play? How many times have we seen both of them at the top of their lungs in a shouting match? Remember when they lost to the Dallas Mavericks and there was news about LeBron acting negatively towards Erik Spoelstra? Those rumours were actually true, but Pat Riley stepped in and decided to retain Coach Spo.
The LeBron show
Now that LeBron is with the Los Angeles Lakers, he is partnered with his draft mate and former assistant coach with Golden State Warriors, Luke Walton. Yes, they have history competing with each other and it will take time for them to work together. The only problem is, LeBron doesn’t have the patience to do so. He already stated during his interview that nobody is safe once his patience runs out. During their game with the Denver Nuggets, we can see that not only he is ignoring Luke Walton but he also disregarded all the plays that they have drawn. It’s already a matter of time until we will see a new head coach of the LA Lakers.
