Miami Heat's Udonis Haslem Has Confidence In A LeBron James-Dan Hurley Partnership

Anthony Pasciolla | Jun 8, 2024

Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley shouts to his team during the Men's NCAA national championship game against the Purdue Boilermakers at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on April 8, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY

Miami Heat legend Udonis Haslem saw first-hand how LeBron James interacted with one of the NBA's top coaches, Erik Spoelstra, leading to confidence in a potential pairing with UConn's Dan Hurley.

Retired guard and podcast partner of James, JJ Redick, was the presumptive leader for the Los Angeles Lakers coaching job prior to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski stating Hurley is their top choice. Many doubt James' ability to coincide with most coaches, but Haslem disagrees.

"LeBron loves being coached. He actually respects guys that have great basketball minds, and that will challenge him on a basketball level and push him to a point where he has to think about things and get out of his comfort zone a little bit," Haslem said on an episode of First Take.

"LeBron James loves being coached. ... Letting things slide on film with Bron and other guys, that's not what Bron likes."@ThisIsUD talks about how LeBron handles being coached after witnessing his relationship with Erik Spoelstra in Miami. pic.twitter.com/R0ReTSTbQg

— First Take (@FirstTake) June 6, 2024

James spent four seasons under Spoelstra's leadership, where he won multiple championships and MVPs. The Lakers' new hire will mark the superstar forward's sixth coach since leaving the Heat. History shows college coaches don't pan out in the league, but Hurley's back-to-back national championships paired with top-tier schemes say otherwise.

"So when I made the point earlier about coaches letting things slide on film with Bron and other guys, thats not what Bron likes, and thats an easy way to lose LeBron James," Haslem shared. "He wants to be coached; he wants to be held accountable; he wants to be the guy who is the extension of the coach in the locker room; he embraces all those things."

Anthony Pasciolla works as a contributing writer to Inside the Heat. He can be reached at ampasciolla@gmail.com or check out his TikTok @apasciolla.

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