Tyronn Lue

Tyronn Jamar Lue (/tɪˈrɒn ˈljuː/, born May 3, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also formerly served as the head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Tyronn Lue
Lue with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016
Los Angeles Clippers
PositionHead coach
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1977-05-03) May 3, 1977
Mexico, Missouri
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolRaytown (Raytown, Missouri)
CollegeNebraska (1995–1998)
NBA draft1998 / Round: 1 / Pick: 23rd overall
Selected by the Denver Nuggets
Playing career1998–2009
PositionPoint guard
Number10
Coaching career2009–present
Career history
As player:
1998–2001Los Angeles Lakers
2001–2003Washington Wizards
2003–2004Orlando Magic
2004Houston Rockets
2004–2008Atlanta Hawks
2008Dallas Mavericks
2008–2009Milwaukee Bucks
2009Orlando Magic
As coach:
2011–2013Boston Celtics (assistant)
2013–2014Los Angeles Clippers (assistant)
2014–2016Cleveland Cavaliers (associate HC)
2016–2018Cleveland Cavaliers
2019–2020Los Angeles Clippers (assistant)
2020–presentLos Angeles Clippers
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

Career NBA statistics
Points4,710 (8.5 ppg)
Rebounds943 (1.7 rpg)
Assists1,727 (3.1 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

A former point guard, Lue played college basketball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers before being selected by the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 1998 NBA draft with the 23rd overall pick. He was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers shortly thereafter. As a member of the Lakers, Lue won two NBA championships in his first three seasons.

After his playing career ended in 2009, Lue became Director of Basketball Development for the Boston Celtics.[1] In 2014, he was hired by the Cavaliers as associate head coach. Lue was promoted to head coach during the 2015–16 season, replacing the fired David Blatt.[2] That same season, Lue coached the Cavaliers to their first NBA championship and became one of the few rookie coaches in the NBA to ever lead his team to a title. Lue coached the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in the 2016–17 and 2017–18 seasons; in both seasons, the Cavaliers were defeated by the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. Lue was fired by Cleveland in October 2018.

Playing career

High school and college career

Lue graduated from Raytown Senior High School in Raytown, Missouri.[3] He later attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he played basketball and studied sociology. Lue was a key member of the 1995-96 team that won the NIT, defeating St. Joseph's in the finals.[4] He finished his Cornhuskers career ranked third all-time in assists (432), fourth in three-pointers made (145) and attempted (407), fifth in steals (154) and seventh in scoring (1,577). Lue led Nebraska in assists in each of his three seasons and finished his career tied with Dave Hoppen for most games with 30 or more points (7). He declared for the NBA draft after his junior season.

NBA career

Lue opted for early entry into the 1998 NBA draft. He was selected 23rd overall by the Denver Nuggets but was traded on draft night to the Los Angeles Lakers with Tony Battie in exchange for Nick Van Exel. His first three years with the Lakers were disappointing. His playing time was limited and he suffered from injuries in 2000. But Lue excelled in the 2001 playoffs. Due to his quickness, he was specifically used to guard Allen Iverson during Game 1 of the Finals.

In the off-season of 2001, Lue signed with the Washington Wizards, where he got considerably more playing time and subsequently became a better point guard. He played with the Orlando Magic in 2003–04 and had a lot of minutes alongside Tracy McGrady, but the team had the worst record in the NBA that season: 21–61. After the season concluded, Lue, McGrady, Juwan Howard, and Reece Gaines were traded to the Houston Rockets for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato. In Houston, Lue saw a notable decrease in playing time due to the overabundance of point guards on the Rockets' roster, and was subsequently traded mid-season to the Atlanta Hawks for Jon Barry. Lue starred in Atlanta, although again his team had the worst record in the NBA and their worst record in franchise history: 13–69.

On February 16, 2008, Lue was acquired by the Sacramento Kings in a trade with the Hawks. He was waived by the Kings on February 28, 2008. After clearing waivers, Lue signed a contract with the Dallas Mavericks on March 4.[5]

On July 17, 2008, Lue was signed by the Milwaukee Bucks.[6]

On February 5, 2009, Lue was traded back to the Magic in exchange for Keith Bogans and cash considerations.[7] In his final year as an NBA player, the Dwight Howard-led Magic advanced to the 2009 Finals but lost to Lue's former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Coaching career

On October 23, 2009, the Boston Celtics named Lue director of basketball development.[1] In July 2013, he joined the Los Angeles Clippers' coaching staff.[8] On June 23, 2014, Lue joined the Cleveland Cavaliers as associate head coach, becoming the highest-paid assistant coach in the NBA. Lue had been a top candidate for the Cavs' head coaching job, which eventually went to David Blatt.[9]

On January 22, 2016, Lue was named head coach of the Cavaliers immediately following the mid-season firing of Blatt.[10] He was signed to a three-year contract.[2] Lue coached the Cavs to an NBA championship that spring. In May, the Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, continuing their unbeaten streak in the 2016 playoffs and making Lue the first coach in NBA history to win his first 10 postseason games.[11] Eight days later, Lue led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals, becoming one of the few coaches to reach the Finals after becoming head coach in midseason. On June 19, 2016, the Cavaliers won their first NBA championship. Lue became the second rookie head coach in two years to win the title, the third head coach (along with Paul Westhead in 1979–80 and Pat Riley in 1981–82) to win a championship after becoming head coach in midseason, and the 14th person to have won an NBA championship as a head coach and as a player.[12][13]

In the 2016–17 NBA season, Lue coached the Cavaliers to a 51–31 record. In the playoffs, the Cavaliers went 12–1 heading into the 2017 NBA Finals before losing to the Golden State Warriors in five games.

On March 19, 2018, Lue announced that he would take a leave of absence from coaching the Cavaliers, citing recurrent chest pain.[14] Lue returned to coach before the regular season ended and helped the Cavaliers reach the 2018 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Warriors in four games.

Lue's coaching style in Cleveland relied on flexibility and LeBron James's consistency; he shuffled players around James to adjust to matchups. In 2016, his Finals team followed the Warriors' own blueprint to beat them. Lue's style was described as undisciplined and unprepared in the regular season, but in the playoffs, he has been praised for his ability to "think several moves ahead and create matchup advantages".[15] At the 2016 ESPY Awards, Lue was named Best Coach/Manager and the Cavs were named Best Team.

On October 28, 2018, the Cavaliers fired Lue after a 0–6 start of the season.[16] Afterwards, Lue worked in an informal role with head coach Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers.[17] Prior to the 2019–20 season, Lue was named the lead assistant coach on Rivers' staff.[18]

On October 20, 2020, Lue was promoted to head coach following Rivers' departure.[19]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1998–99 L.A. Lakers 15012.5.431.438.571.41.7.3.05.0
1999–2000† L.A. Lakers 8018.3.487.500.7501.52.1.4.06.0
2000–01† L.A. Lakers 38112.3.427.324.792.81.2.5.03.4
2001–02 Washington 71020.5.427.447.7621.73.5.7.07.8
2002–03 Washington 752426.5.433.341.8752.03.5.6.08.6
2003–04 Orlando 766930.7.433.383.7712.54.2.8.110.5
2004–05 Houston 21322.8.393.333.7781.92.8.4.06.0
2004–05 Atlanta 494631.2.464.364.8712.25.4.5.013.5
2005–06 Atlanta 511024.2.459.457.8551.63.1.5.111.0
2006–07 Atlanta 561726.6.416.348.8831.93.6.4.011.4
2007–08 Atlanta 33317.1.439.435.8571.21.8.3.06.8
2007–08 Dallas 17010.1.474.529.250.8.9.0.13.8
2008–09 Milwaukee 30013.1.454.467.7501.21.5.2.04.7
2008–09 Orlando 1409.2.395.353.667.81.0.1.03.0
Career 55417322.7.437.391.8291.73.1.5.08.5

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1999 L.A. Lakers 3011.0.412.000.000.72.0.7.04.7
2001† L.A. Lakers 1508.7.345.385.800.7.7.8.11.9
2008 Dallas 201.0.000.000.000.5.5.0.0.0
2009 Orlando 104.01.0001.000.000.0.0.0.05.0
Career 2108.1.388.375.800.6.8.7.02.3

Head coaching record
Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Cleveland 2015–16 412714.6591st in Central21165.762Won NBA Championship
Cleveland 2016–17 825131.6221st in Central18135.722Lost in NBA Finals
Cleveland 2017–18 825032.6101st in Central221210.545Lost in NBA Finals
Cleveland 2018–19 606.000(fired)—————
Career 21112883.607614120.672

Awards and honors

As player:

As coach:

Other:

Personal life

Lue is a first cousin once removed of NBA small forward Jayson Tatum. As a native of St. Louis, Tatum grew up within two hours of Lue's hometown of Mexico, Missouri, and often attended his family barbecues.[21]

References
  1. neil-keefe (October 23, 2009). "Celtics Name Tyronn Lue Director of Basketball Development".
  2. "David Blatt fired as Cavaliers coach; Tyronn Lue to take over team". ESPN. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  3. "Fmr. Raytown student now NBA title-winning coach". KSHB. June 20, 2016.
  4. "Huskers.com - Nebraska Athletics Official Web Site". www.huskers.com.
  5. "After being waived by Kings, Lue signs with Mavs". ESPN.com. March 5, 2008.
  6. "Bucks sign Tyronn Lue and Malik Allen". Milwaukee Bucks.
  7. "Orlando Magic News Headlines". Orlando Magic.
  8. "CLIPPERS NAME ALVIN GENTRY ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH AND ADD ARMOND HILL, KEVIN EASTMAN AND TYRONN LUE AS ASSISTANT COACHES". Los Angeles Clippers.
  9. "Cavs Hire Clippers Assistant Tyronn Lue To Be Associate Head Coach". June 23, 2014.
  10. Fedor, Chris (January 22, 2016). "David Blatt fired by Cleveland Cavaliers; Tyronn Lue elevated to head coach". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland.com. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  11. Matthey, James (May 20, 2016). "LeBron James and co racked up some crazy stats in their game two win over the Raptors". news.com.au. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  12. Vogel, Brandon (June 20, 2016). "Hot Reads: Tryonn". Hail Varsity. Archived from the original on June 21, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  13. Matthey, James (June 20, 2016). "Cavaliers defeat Warriors 93-89, clinch first NBA title". MEREDITHAZ. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  14. Boren, Cindy (March 19, 2018). "Cavaliers' Tyronn Lue takes leave of absence with just 13 games left, citing health issues". Washington Post. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  15. Tjarks, Jonathan. Tyronn Lue Is Running Circles Around Dwane Casey, The Ringer, May 4, 2018
  16. "Cavaliers Make Coaching Change". NBA.com. October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  17. Rapp, Timothy. "Tyronn Lue Brought in by Doc Rivers, Clippers for 'Informal Role' with Team". Bleacher Report.
  18. "Tyronn Lue agrees to join Clippers coaching staff". Los Angeles Times. August 21, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  19. "Clippers Name Tyronn Lue Head Coach". NBA.com. October 20, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  20. Cavs coach Tyronn Lue stays true ti his hometown of Mexico, Mo. - Kansas City.com (Kansas City Star}
  21. McMenamin, Dave (May 10, 2018). "Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue proud to see cousin Jayson Tatum succeeding with Boston Celtics". ESPN.
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