Ranking all of LeBron James' NBA coaches
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LeBron James has nearly all the accolades in the NBA, highlighted by four NBA titles, four NBA Finals MVPs, a NBA In-Season Tournament title, a NBA In-Season Tournament MVP, four NBA MVPs, and the NBA All-Time Leading scoring title.
But while James has plenty of accolades to his name, The King has also had plenty of coaches throughout his career. Here is a ranking of all of LeBron James’ NBA coaches.
Check out the gallery below.
1. Erik Spoelstra
Erik Spoelstra was the best coach to ever mentor LeBron James from the sidelines. If basketball fans remember, Spoelstra managed to make the Big Three of South Beach become one of the most dominant teams of the decade, en route to four-straight NBA Finals appearances and back-to-back NBA championships.
Spoelstra should top this list given how many big egos he had to work with. Moreover, he’s also the most successful coach to work with The King.
2. Tyronn Lue
Despite being announced as the head coach midway through the 2015-2016 season, the coaching move proved to be the missing piece that allowed LeBron James and the Cavaliers to finally win a championship.
Despite facing a 3-1 series hole against the 73-9 Golden State Warriors, Lue helped lead the Cavs to a successful comeback. Although James and Kyrie Irving executed well on the court, there should be credit given to Lue.
3. Frank Vogel
As a defensive-minded coach, Frank Vogel proved to be perfect for a gritty Los Angeles Lakers squad inside the NBA Bubble. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Vogel led the Lakers to the franchise’s 17th NBA championship.
Furthermore, it was also James’ fourth NBA title to go along with the third team he led to a title. Lakers fans would know that it was Vogel’s defensive tactics that also played a huge role in clinching the franchise’s first championship in a decade.
4. Mike Brown
Although James never won a title with Mike Brown during his first Cavaliers stint, it was Mike Brown who helped transform James into an MVP-caliber player. Under Brown’s guidance, James won his first two NBA MVPs. But more importantly, with Brown as the tactician, he was also able to help the James-led Cavaliers make an NBA Finals appearance in 2007.
5. Darvin Ham
The Lakers fanbase weren’t exactly impressed with Darvin Ham’s coaching stint with the Purple and Gold. Nonetheless, he should still make the top five among James’ coaches.
Let’s not forget, it wasn’t long ago when Ham led the Lakers to the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament title coupled with a Western Conference Finals run. While Ham received a lot of heat from the critics, he still deserves credit for the mentioned accolades.
6. David Blatt
When LeBron James returned home to Cleveland, the King was out to continue his pursuit of a title. In fact, it was highly touted EuroLeague coach David Blatt who helped James continue to rule the Eastern Conference.
In his first season with the Cavs, Blatt coached the team to a solid 53-29 record, which topped the Central Division. But more importantly, he led the Cavs to a Finals appearance. A season later, Blatt helped the Cavs post a 30-11 record to hold the best record in the East before surprisingly getting fired midway through the season due to a lack of fit.
7. Paul Silas
While Paul Silas coached James in his rookie years, there wasn’t a lot of team success. Nonetheless, he still guided James to become the NBA Rookie of the Year.
Furthermore, under his watch, James was also able to blossom into an All-Star. Overall, Silas coached the Cavaliers team to a 69-77 record without a single playoff appearance. Furthermore, The King also had the lowest production under Silas.
8. JJ Redick
JJ Redick ranks this low on this list because the former NBA player has only coached James for 30 games after the Lakers hired Redick with no coaching experience prior to the 2024-2025 season.
So far, the results have been solid with a 17-13 record, which is good enough for sixth in the Western Conference after the Lakers were eighth the season before his arrival. It’s still a wait-and-see whether Redick can climb up the ranks further with more games under his belt.
9. Brendan Malone
Replacing Silas midway through the 2004-2005 season for the Cleveland Cavaliers was Brendan Malone. Unfortunately, he only coached James for only 18 games. It wasn’t exactly impactful, as he only registered an 8-10 record. But on the bright side for James, The King actually averaged the best numbers for Malone. James tallied 30.3 points under Malone.
10. Luke Walton
After his coaching stint with the Golden State Warriors, the assignment with the Los Angeles Lakers was promising at first. However, Luke Walton ultimately failed to impress as head coach. In fact, even James’ arrival couldn’t save his coaching job.
The Lakers went 98-148 overall under his watch, including 37-45 after James’ arrival in Los Angeles. The Lakers also didn’t make a single playoff appearance. Just a season with James, it made sense for the Lakers to part ways with the former NBA champion.
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