Badass 2017 NBA Coaches Part 2: Tyronn Lue

Tyronn Lue is without a doubt one of the most badass 2017 NBA coaches, so let’s take a look at what makes him so special, and how his team became one of the betting favorites to win the Championship according to Intertops.

Intertops 2017 NBA betting odds

• Golden State Warriors: 1.60
• Cleveland Cavaliers: 4.50
• San Antonio Spurs: 9.00
• Boston Celtics: 23.00
• Houston Rockets: 23.00

In 2009, Tyronn Lue took his first post-playing job as an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics. Just five years later the 39 year old Missouri native was named the assistant head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers and was named the highest paid assistant coach in the league.

Halfway through the 2015/16 NBA season, the Cavaliers fired head coach David Blatt, and Tyronn Lue took his place. Under their new leadership, the Cavs won their first 10 postseason games and eventually went on to win the NBA championship. Lue has continued on that success this season, and is widely considered to be one of the most badass 2017 NBA coaches today. Here’s some things you may not know about him.

Lue was an amazing player back in the day

Long before Tyronn Lue began a coaching career, he was seen as one of the best young players in the NBA. He was drafted to the Denver Nuggets in 1998, and was then immediately traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Lue struggled to find much success in his first few years with the team, and suffered from injuries during the 2000 season. It wasn’t until the 2001 season playoffs that Lue truly came into his own, and was instrumental in guarding Allen Iverson. Despite entering the series as a slight betting underdog according to most online sportsbooks in the US, the Lakers went on to win that year’s NBA Championship.

Lue then signed with the Washington Wizards, where he got considerably more playing time and became a much better point guard. He would go on to play for 6 more teams before eventually retiring in 2009 to take his first coaching duties. The experience that Tyronn Lue gained on the court contributed to his current reputation as one of the most badass 2017 NBA coaches.

He’s just the 6th black coach to win an NBA title

It was a tremendous accomplishment for Tyronn Lue to win the NBA Championship in just his first year as an NBA head coach. What makes this even cooler is the fact that Lue is now just the 6th black coach to win an NBA Championship.

The NBA is filled with many incredible coaches, and it’s actually quite surprising that Lue is one of just a few black NBA coaches to win the major title. The others include Doc Rivers, Bill Russell, Lenny Wilkins, K.C. Jones, and Al Attles.

Tyronn Lue is without one of the most badass 2017 NBA coaches, but all five of the aforementioned coaches had tremendous careers in their own right. At the moment, the Cleveland Cavaliers are ranked 1st in the Eastern Conference, and Lue has a serious chance of making US gambling news by winning a second straight title. In fact, the Cavaliers are one of the 2017 NBA betting favorites to win the Championship with odds of 4.50, according to Intertops.

Lue has strong bonds with his players

As a former player, Tyronn Lue knows the kind of pressure that the NBA athletes are under, and has a unique ability to connect with his players. That may be one his biggest strengths, and was likely a key factor in surging his team on to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the 2016 NBA Championship.

Tyronn Lue and Lebron James have a very strong relationship. James explained how they were able to connect by stating, “Our upbringing; being from a single-parent household, being from an inner-city community, being a statistic that you weren’t supposed to make it out and there’s no way they’re going to make it out. You’re going to be one of those African-American kids and we both made it out of tough situations growing up. So before we even met each other, you have that sense of that type of feeling.”

A united team is extremely important, and is oftentimes what separates a good team from a great one. The Golden State Warriors are a tremendous example of what a team can do when their players band together. It’s this ability to connect with his athletes and create a united culture that makes Lue arguably the most badass 2017 NBA coach. He has made a tremendous amount of money in his career, and could spend the rest of his days playing poker in Costa Rica, but instead strives to push his team to even further greatness.

Who do you think is the most badass NBA coach in 2017? Will the Cavaliers win the NBA Championship in 2017? Tell us what you think by leaving the comment below, and make sure to check out Intertops to find a full list of 2017 NBA betting lines, and Part 1 of our badass NBA coaches article to see who else has made the list.