It’s now known to the public how coach Tyronn Lue is well-loved within the Cleveland Cavaliers organization. Even before piloting his players to a historic finals comeback, the rookie head coach already had his wards’ ears.
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His calm and composed demeanor is something the Cavs responded to. Lue rarely made them feel that he isn’t in control of the situation. In fact, there was an even bigger secret of him that he did not tell the team, per Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated.
The rookie coach had not told the Cavaliers that his mother, Kim, was undergoing chemotherapy treatments in Houston for her second bout with breast cancer. Nor had he told them that his grandmother, Olivia George, went there to care for her and was promptly diagnosed with lung cancer. She was also undergoing chemo.
Imagine the emotional burden that Tyronn Lue had to carry within himself, alone, throughout the playoffs. When he was selected to replace David Blatt, the Cavs’ front office wanted to take away from the players the excuse of blaming their coach.
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Lue felt the need to walk the management’s talk, and did so by not revealing anything that could be presumed as an excuse for him to not be on top of his game in the most crucial juncture.
It speaks a lot about Tyronn Lue as a person, and with that, he just gained tons of additional respect from everyone. That’s how he leads by example.