For a moment in the summer of 2019, it seemed like Tyronn Lue would get to coach his former team the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers interviewed Lue for their then-vacant head coaching role, but ultimately passed on him in favor of Frank Vogel. Lue would go on to accept the same job with the L.A. Clippers and currently has them looking like a title contender.
Since joining the Clippers, Lue has led them to a winning regular season record every year and got them as far as the Western Conference Finals. While he has yet to capture the franchise’s first title, the Clippers are undoubtedly happy with Lue’s performance.
Although Lue did all the heavy lifting himself, he recently shouted out Kobe Bryant for helping him find the right mindset when it came to his job ahead of the four-year anniversary of the Lakers legend’s death.
“Just his mentality,” Lue said. “Hard work mentality every single day. Coming in when I was a young player, when I played Kobe was young, and just his dedication to the game. He gave everything he had to the game of basketball and that’s kind of like how I live my life. I owe everything to basketball. And that’s how Kobe lived his life. He wanted to be the best, he wanted to be the greatest, and just seeing the hard work he put in every day, being the first to the gym, last to leave. In the summertime, it was workouts in the morning at 5:30 in the morning, just the dedication to that. So just every day that you step on that court between the lines, you want to compete at a high level. We owe it all to Kobe.”
Lue played a minor role on the three-peat Lakers teams during their peak, but clearly learned a few things playing alongside Bryant. Kobe was known for his hard work and dedication on and off the court and his “Mamba Mentality” is something anyone can take and learn from.
Bryant isn’t the only Lakers player Lue credits for helping his career as he also singled out LeBron James. Lue and James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first-ever NBA championship and now the two find themselves in opposite locker rooms at Crypto.com Arena.
Lakers star LeBron James credits Tyronn Lue for Clippers’ turnaround
Shortly after trading for James Harden, the Clippers went on a losing streak that raised questions about their championship hopes. However, the team then reeled off numerous wins and James credited Lue with their quick turnaround.
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