Say what you want about the great LeBron James : passive-aggressive, moody, hard to play with, yada, yada, yada. The one thing you can’t say about him is that he talks down his opponents—be it a coach or player.
Since he entered the NBA, James has always been quick to gush a compliment for any top name in basketball. Even going back to his early days in the NBA, he always deferred the best player in the world title to Kobe Bryant . Similarly, Bron hasn’t shied from giving opposing coaches their flowers.
Going back to his final season in Cleveland, the organization was engulfed with drama, trade deadline chaos, and a superstar player and team owner still at odds over a brutal split eight years earlier. Despite the turmoil, James led Cleveland to the franchise’s fourth consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearance, where they met the Brad Stevens-coached Boston Celtics .
Stevens may have been a young coach with a growing resume, but the Cavs forward—the brilliant basketball mind that he is—didn’t hesitate to call Brad out.
“Boston is without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, but James has a ton of respect for the Celtics as an opponent regardless. I think they are one of the most well-coached teams in our league," he began. "Obviously, you know what I've said about Brad Stevens before and his ability to get the most out of his guys, how great they are out of timeouts, late-clock situations, as well. No matter who is on the floor or no matter who has played for them, he can put guys in position to succeed and get the most out of whoever has been in their lineup over the past few years; it's not just this year."
"I think it has been a little bit overblown this year because of the names that has been out. Obviously, with Kyrie and Gordon and the injuries with those two big guys, but he has gotten the most out of everybody he has ever put in his position since he's gotten to Boston,” The King said via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
Are coaches jealous of Stevens?
2018 was a breakthrough year for Stevens. Coming off a successful run at the collegiate level, the young head coach was the perfect leader for a culture like Boston—never loud or animated, never over the top—just a standup guy that C's nation embraced from day 1.
By all accounts, Stevens deserved to be recognized as a Tier 1 coach by everyone in the NBA. However, according to the 2017-18 NBA Coach of the Year poll, he got no tallies to win the award—not a single vote.
In fact, seven NBA coaches, including Doc Rivers—the head man of the 10th seed L.A. Clippers in the West—received more votes than the young tactician, who coached his team to 55 wins without his two best players for a large portion of the season.
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Close to a monumental achievement
Despite the magnificent season Boston had put together through two playoff rounds, they had to face the man that ran the East for the better part of the last decade. It wasn’t going to be easy: James entered the conference finals having scored 979 career points vs. C's over his playoff career. That was the most by any player against one team in postseason history.
With Boston playing a do-or-die Game 7 on their home floor, SteBradvens had the opportunity to put himself in rare air if he could get his team to the Finals. Predictably, the Celtics weren't experienced enough to knock King James out of the tournament.
Had Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward been available for Boston, it might have been a different story. Nevertheless, the young tactician garnered massive praise from the public for getting the absolute most out of his roster.
Related: Grant Hill hails MJ as NBA GOAT but defends LeBron's legacy: "He's lived up to the expectations"
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