Rich Paul has never been shy about his influence, but even by his standards, his latest story raised a few eyebrows.
On the Game Over podcast, Rich Paul casually revealed that he gave in-game tactical advice to LeBron James during the Los Angeles Lakers’ recent 120-114 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Not during a timeout or a break but mid-game, from the sideline. And according to Paul, it worked almost immediately.
“When I catch eye contact with my guys, if they have an opportunity, they’ll come over. So Bron came over, and I was telling him what I saw and if he saw the same thing. I was like ‘if you catch the ball with a live dribble, it’ll bring two and get Luka off the ball for a second.”
A few possessions later, the exact scenario played out. LeBron drove, drew two defenders, and kicked the ball back out to Luka Doncic. The pass was not perfect, but Doncic gathered it, took a dribble, and buried a wide-open three. It was the kind of sequence that looks routine on tape but requires a precise read of how a defense is reacting in real time.
Paul did not stop there.
“Then we talked with 4 minutes to go. ‘I like you and Luka in the P&R. He was like ‘you like 5? And I said No, 77’. If you watch at the end, they were running the ball screen.”
Down the stretch, the Lakers leaned into that exact action, using Luka as the ball-screen partner to force switches and defensive confusion.
What makes this moment fascinating is not that the advice worked. It is that it was even necessary.
LeBron James is widely regarded as one of the smartest basketball minds the sport has ever seen. His ability to read coverages, manipulate help defenders, and control pace is legendary. He did not need Rich Paul to tell him what the Grizzlies was doing. He almost certainly already knew.
But that is not really the point.
What Paul provided was confirmation. A second set of eyes validating a read in the middle of a chaotic game. At the highest level, that can matter. The margins are thin, and confidence in a decision can be the difference between forcing a pass and making the right one.
The moment is not a blueprint for how games should be coached. But it does underline something important. Great teams do not just rely on talent. They rely on shared understanding, instant communication, and elite basketball minds seeing the same picture at the same time.
In this case, Rich Paul bragged a little. LeBron executed. Luka cashed in. And the Lakers walked away with a win that was decided in the smallest, smartest details.
