Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
Like many NBA figures over the past two decades, former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown saw firsthand the impact LeBron James had when the superstar spoke his mind.
Brown, now the head coach of the Sacramento Kings, recalled a trade with James at the beginning of the 2005-06 season, the first time he led Cleveland. The Cavaliers’ pick-and-roll defense failed, and players struggled to adapt to their system.
“So I called a timeout and I just walked right into the huddle and I just started saying ‘Okay, what the hell are you trying to do?'” Brown told The Athletic. “Every time we try to defend the pick-and-roll, we’re told. Do you want to switch? ‘Do you want to set a trap?’ “We’re a performance team. Some people might call it hedging, so I said, ‘What do you want to do? I’ll do whatever you want to do, as long as…”
James then interrupted the instruction and forcefully stated his point of view.
“I didn’t even get a chance to finish, but LeBron stepped in and said, ‘No, no, no.'” — excuse my French — but he said, “No — that,” Brown recalled. “‘We’re a performance team. This is what we do. You do this. You do it.’ When he said that, I just backed away from the crowd. From there, we took off. I mean , we became one of the best defensive teams in the NBA over the next few years. In my opinion, it was because the tone was set – maybe initially it was set by me – but LeBron solidified This tone.”
It’s a big moment for a first-time NBA head coach who has led his team to a string of successes. Brown played five seasons with the Cavaliers in his first season, starting with back-to-back 50-win seasons and reaching the 2007 NBA Finals, where they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs.
Despite posting 66- and 61-win performances in subsequent seasons, the Cavaliers failed to return to the NBA Finals under Brown and he was fired after the 2009-10 season. He returned as head coach during the 2013-14 season, but was fired again after the Cavaliers failed to make the playoffs.
Of course, James left and returned to Cleveland, helping the Cavaliers win their first NBA championship in 2016. The 38-year-old now plays for the Los Angeles Lakers and just started his 21st NBA season.
Brown is entering his second season with the Kings, who are considered one of the most exciting emerging teams in the league. There’s a chance they could face James and the Lakers at some point in the 2023 Western Conference playoffs, and the stakes are high.
The Cavaliers, now coached by JB Bickerstaff, also have high expectations for the 2023-24 NBA season. With a young core of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, as well as newcomers Max Strouse and Georges Niang, they are looking to Back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time in four consecutive NBA Finals. 2018.
Bickerstaff began his fourth full season as Cavaliers head coach with a 114-113 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. This season they will face the Browns and Kings on November 13th and February 5th.