Since coming into the league, LeBron James has been one of the most vocal players on and off the court. He often takes over timeouts and tells his teammates what to do and on the court, he is always talking or yelling at players telling them exactly where to be.
The running joke has always been that it doesn’t matter who is the head coach of the Cavaliers is because it’s LeBron James who is the real coach.
This year, that narrative really took off in January when James could be seen taking over the huddle and calling a play while Tyrone Lue stood to the side.
For James, he has always said he isn’t the coach, he just takes what the coaching staff says and tries to implement it on the court.
“That’s just who I am,” James told Bleacher Report. “I feel like I’m an extension of our coaching staff. I take their commands and try to give them to our players out there on the floor. Just trying to see the game in multiple ways.”
With Tyrone Lue not coaching because of health issues, James has been even more vocal trying to help Larry Drew coach the team. But according to one source talking to Bleacher Report, although James tries to be helpful, he isn’t the coach.
“Can he be passive-aggressive? Yes,” a person familiar with the Cavs’ dynamics told B/R. “Can he be overbearing? Yes. But to say that he’s coaching the team implies that he’s defiant and disrespectful, and that’s not factually accurate. That’s just not who he is.”
This offseason when James makes his decision if he decides to leave the Cavaliers, a new team is going to have to understand that this is just how James is, and he will probably always have a huge say on whatever team he is on.
