- Tyronn Lue told LeBron James he had to play better during halftime of Game 7 of the 2016 Finals
- LeBron told his veteran teammates that he couldn’t believe Lue said that
- When they sided with the head coach, LeBron got mad and stormed out
Tensions are always high during Game 7 of a playoff series and more so if it is the NBA Finals. The last time we saw a Game 7 in the Finals was in 2016 when the Cleveland Cavaliers took on the Golden State Warriors.
The Cavaliers were trailing 49-42 at the half in that Game 7, and head coach Tyronn Lue had not been too happy with how LeBron James was playing. Once they got back into the locker room, Lue demanded more from James, who didn’t take it too well.
“At halftime, they got all the film,” Lue said on the All The Smoke podcast. “And I said, ‘We ain’t doing no film.’ I said, ‘Bron you gotta be better bro.’ He’s like, ‘What you mean? I got this.’ I said, ‘I don’t care about no stats,’ (LeBron responded), ‘What would you want me to do T-Lue?’ (Lue said), ‘Guard Draymond (Green), be aggressive, shoot the ball, stop turning the ball over, anything else?’ He’s like, ‘Man.’ I said, ‘Man, we need you to be better, do you want to win? It’s on you.’
“I stormed out of the locker room, slammed the door,” Lue continued. “He go grab D-Jones, ‘D-Jones man your boy tripping.’ D-Jones like, ‘Who?’ He’s like, ‘Man, T-Lue. He talking about I ain’t doing this and doing that.’ He said, ‘Well man listen, I ain’t been here all year but everything I read about how you trust him. Why not trust him now?’ So Bron like, ‘F**k you.’
“He go to James Jones, ‘JJ I can’t believe man,’ James Jones like, ‘Well Bron is he lying?’ (LeBron said), ‘F**k you.’ He stormed out of the locker room,” Lue added. “And the second half, dominated the whole game.”
(starts at 1:13:09 mark):
LeBron had 12 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks at halftime, but his head coach did not like the way he was playing. James did a better job of controlling the game in the second and finished the night with 27 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks as the Cavs won 93-89. Lue is taking some credit for the turnaround, as his criticism got LeBron going.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9DZHvy-AaA
Doris Burke Revealed How Tyronn Lue Was Pushing LeBron James In Game 7
Witnessing all that tense Game 7 action first-hand was Doris Burke. During an appearance on The Old Man and the Three podcast, Burke revealed that Lue was repeatedly asking for more from James in that game. She wondered how he could expect more from LeBron as she felt he was giving everything, but Lue clearly felt he could do more.
While what transpired between the two men that night was a bit tense, LeBron knew ultimately that Lue wanted to win just as desperately as he did. He called him the best coach in the league last year and had it not been for Kevin Durant joining the Warriors in 2016, you wonder how much more these two could have won.
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