Lakers News: Ex-LA Champ Reveals LeBron James Served As Coach On The Floor
Former 2020 championship-winning Los Angeles Lakers center JaVale McGee, now riding pine on the Dallas Mavericks, recently revealed during a conversation with TNT's Taylor Rooks and Channing Frye, another former title-winning LeBron James teammate, that his old teammate LeBron James had perhaps an outsized role in guiding his team on the floor.
McGee started at center through most of the regular season, and subsequently during Los Angeles' run through the Western Conference during the 2020 playoffs before being benched completely during LA's eventual six-game NBA Finals win over the Miami. Through the 14 games he did play in those playoffs, he averaged 2.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 9.7 minutes, while ceding a lot of time at the five spot to Anthony Davis and Dwight Howard.
“When we won with 'Bron, 'Bron did a lot of the coaching. He [took advantage of] a lot of opportunities where it was like, coach [Frank Vogel] says 'Run this,' and he's like, 'No, we're running this,'" McGee explained. "So championship teams not only have to have good coaches, they have to have good player-coaches."
James has always been known to be sort of a secret coach and shadow GM on his teams, which sort of begs the question of whether or not a coaching career is in his future.
As for McGee, he may be looking at life after basketball than James.
The 15-year seven-footer, 35, spent two seasons in LA, from 2018-2020. He also won titles in 2017 and 2018 with the Golden State Warriors, and was for a time one of the best rim-rolling bench bigs in the league. He was most recently a bit player on a lottery-bound Mavericks club this season.
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