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LeBron: "There's Going to Be Times When Spo Don't Like Me"
LeBron and Coach Spoelstra Talk About Their Relationship
Miami Heat star LeBron James and coach Erik Spoelstra recently talked about the nature of their relationship as player and coach.
"I think the last few weeks it's been a lot more comfortable," Spoelstra told FOX Sports reporter Bill Reiter. "We've been communicating a lot more."
After practice on Tuesday, James also shared his perspective on the relationship with Reiter.
"It's definitely a process, and I think me and Coach Spo are learning each other as we speak," said James. "It's not always going to be a bed of roses. We know that. There's going to be times when Spo don't like me and I don't like Spo. That's just how it is. But we've got to have each other's back no matter what's going on."
There has, of course, been a lot of pressure on the Miami Heat. The pressure has been not only on the Big Three to prove that they can win big but also on young coach Erik Spoelstra to prove that he can successfully coach a team with so many big names.
"I know there's a lot of pressure on all of us, including coach Spo, but at the end of the day we're all in it together," said James.
And with so much pressure, the players have to trust not only their teammates but also their coach.
"It takes a while to develop trust," said Spoelstra. "From a coaching standpoint you have to fight for players' trust every single day. Every single meeting. Whenever you talk to them -- game, pregame, shoot-around, practice. I think every coach has that same feeling."
And that trust works both ways. LeBron has proven his high basketball IQ over and over again. And Spoelstra acknowledges and respects that.
"He's a highly intelligent player," said Spoelstra. "So from a coaching standpoint you're drawn to that because he's interested in the details, he's interested in the game plan. He's interested in strategy. And once we developed a trust, I wanted to welcome his ideas as long as it's in the right context."
And that trust in James carries over even to some of the most critical game-time moments, timeouts.
"Sometimes -- a lot of times actually now -- during timeouts I start to diagram something and he says, ‘Coach, can I say something,' almost like he's a student in class,'" Spoelstra said. "And I'll say, ‘Yeah, absolutely, quickly, we got 2-1/2,' so I can assimilate it and then possibly translate it to the team.
"Sometimes we're not even finishing sentences with each other. He'll say something and I know exactly what he's talking about," continued Spoesltra. "And I'll say something and I'm halfway through my sentence and he'll finish my sentence and we go to explain to everybody else and everyone's sitting in the huddle there going, ‘What just happened there?'
"A lot of times we finish each other's thoughts in the huddle, and that only happens if a player is really dialed in to the game and the details."
So the trust and synchronicity are there. And while LeBron admits that he doesn't always agree with Spo's thinking and vice versa, they find a way to make it work.
"I have some of my own methods and Coach has some of his own and we both know the game, we both believe in some of the things that we know, but we both have to figure out a way (to do it together)," LeBron said. "Which we have."
And at the end of the day, LeBron trusts that his coach will lead the team in the right direction.
"I know coach Spo is going to put us out there and give us the best routine, give us the best challenge, and give us the best game plan to win, and I'm going to have to be that coach on the court for him as we play," said James.
(Sources: FOXSports.com)
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