The Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a four-year contract with former NBA player JJ Redick to become the franchise’s new head coach. While Redick has no coaching experience at any major level, he did spend 15 years in the league as a player and was well-known for his high basketball IQ and meticulous attention to detail and work ethic.
Being drafted in 2006, Redick spent much of his career facing off against LeBron James-led teams. In fact, the two faced each other 35 times throughout Redick’s career with LeBron holding a 24-11 advantage. Redick averaged 12.3 points against James while the current Lakers superstar averaged 27.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.7 assists against his new coach.
But this isn’t the first time LeBron has been coached by somebody who he faced off with on the court. It has actually happened three other times, making Redick the fourth opponent-turned-coach in LeBron James’ career.
Darvin Ham
Years coaching LeBron: 2022-24
Record: 2-2
The most recent example of this was actually LeBron’s most recent coach with the Lakers in Darvin Ham. Ham was a member of the Detroit Pistons when James was drafted in 2003, but his career lasted only two more seasons following LeBron entering the league.
Ham was a sparingly used bench player for Detroit at that time, though he did win a championship there in 2004, LeBron’s rookie season. The two faced off only four times, splitting the matchups with Ham failing to even score a point in the meetings and never playing more than 12 minutes in any game.
James, meanwhile, set a then-career high against Ham and the Pistons in 2004, scoring nearly half of the Cavaliers points, 43 on 15-of-22 shooting, in a 92-76 Cavaliers win.
Luke Walton
Years coaching LeBron: 2018-19
Record: 3-8
Luke Walton was actually in the same draft class as LeBron, being taken by the Lakers 32nd overall. He would later be traded to the Cavaliers, but after James had left for Miami so the two were also nearly teammates as well.
Walton, like most, had little success against LeBron as a player, never winning consecutive games against him or scoring double-digit points, though in fairness, scoring never was a barometer of Walton’s success. He averaged 3.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists while LeBron averaged 29.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.5 steals in those 11 contests.
Walton, of course, only spent one year as James’ head coach, his first with the Lakers. Things looked promising initially, but an ankle injury on Christmas Day for LeBron derailed the season and the team parted ways with Walton that offseason.
Tyronn Lue
Years coaching LeBron: 2016-18
Record: 5-9
Far and away the most successful of LeBron’s former opponents turned coaches, Tyronn Lue famously took over as head coach of the Cavaliers in the middle of the 2015-16 season and led them to a championship over the Golden State Warriors that season. And Lue nearly was LeBron’s coach again with the Lakers, but the two sides couldn’t come to terms on a deal.
As opponents, Lue was solid throughout the contests against James, averaging 10.2 points and 3.4 assists with his best game coming in 2005 as a member of the Atlanta Hawks when he dropped 19 points off the bench in a six-point victory.
LeBron’s best night against Lue came the prior year as he dropped 40 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in a Cleveland win.
