During the Los Angeles Lakers‘ steamrolling of the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2001 NBA Finals, one of the most memorable moments from the series was Hall of Famer Allen Iverson stepping over Tyronn Lue in overtime of Game 1.
It’s a singular moment that has lived on in infamy in the many years since it’s occurrence, essentially putting Lue on the map publicly throughout the rest of his 11-year NBA career. In light of that, Lue believes that he certainly benefitted from it.
Following that season, Lue was able to put together a productive career playing for the likes of the Washington Wizards, Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks, and Orlando Magic. He had some of his best years with the Hawks averaging more than 10 points in three separate seasons.
His time around the league helped him latch onto a coaching career following his playing days. He spent his first four years on the bench as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics under Doc Rivers then followed him to the Los Angeles Clippers for a season.
Lue was then able to garner an associate head coach role under David Blatt with the Clevland Cavaliers beginning in 2014 and earned the head coaching opportunity after the team parted ways with Blatt in January 2016. He has now held down that position for nearly the last two years and has proven himself to hold more than his own in the job.
Although Lue is being quite gracious with the moment, he has certainly paid his dues to get where he is now in his post-playing days in the NBA to become the head coach of one of the top teams in the league, that could compete for many more titles for the foreseeable future.
