Ty Lue joked about how LeBron James scoring 46 points against the Clippers was something he wanted so the King could become the only player to have a 40-piece against every team.
Tyronn Lue and LeBron James have a lot of history together, Lue was his Head Coach during the King's second stint in Cleveland. And he was an essential figure in the Cavaliers winning the 2016 NBA championship. Those kinds of bonds cannot be severed even if players and coaches move to different situations, and it's apparent that both Ty Lue and LeBron James retain a high opinion of one another.
Tyronn Lue being complimentary of LeBron James is also easy for him to do these days, the Clippers' latest win has taken their record to 10-0 against the Lakers under his stewardship. The historically inferior franchise has enjoyed the upper hand in recent seasons, and Lue seems to have been a catalyst for that. And he feels comfortable enough to make jokes about the King's greatness.
Tyronn Lue Claimed He Wanted LeBron James To Score 40 Against The Clippers
LeBron James had a whopping 46 points for the Los Angeles Lakers against the Clippers. It wasn't enough to stop his team from losing convincingly through. It did unlock another achievement for LeBron James, who is now the only player to have scored 40+ points against every NBA franchise. And speaking after the game, Lue joked about how he wanted this to happen.
“I wanted LeBron to get 40 so he could have 40 against every team.”
It says a lot about the Los Angeles Lakers as they are constructed presently that opposition Head Coaches can make remarks like this. LeBron James has himself spoken about not caring about individual records if his team is losing, and this one happens to have gone into that category. It's important not to diminish the brilliance of what the King is doing, but jabs like these have got to hurt LeBron as well as he chases another championship.
The Los Angeles Clippers are slowly gathering some steam as they push onward toward the playoffs with the hope of finally making it to the NBA Finals. If Ty Lue can lead them there, then he will immediately become one of the greatest coaches in the franchise's history if he isn't already. As for LeBron James, he likely won't mind a joke like this from an old colleague too much, but he'll also likely remember it for the time the Lakers beat the Clippers next if they can.
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