In an age where every athlete goes on some kind of podcast to talk about the sport, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James stayed away. LeBron would appear on the talk show he created, 'The Shop' several times but he never jumped on the popular NBA-player podcasts.
That all changed earlier this month as LeBron and Uninterrupted launched a joint effort podcast with JJ Redick and Three Four Two Productions. 'Mind the Game with LeBron James and JJ Redick' is meant to be a show about breaking down all the intricacies of the game of basketball in a way that no other show or outlet does.
While the show is very technical and not as gossip-oriented as some other sports media podcasts, it did not take very long for LeBron James to expose his current head coach, Darvin Ham. In just the second episode of the show, LeBron discussed how he had to overrule his own coach and change what the Lakers were doing defensively.
LeBron says he vetoed Darvin Ham’s coaching in the comeback win against the Clippers 👀 pic.twitter.com/AxttZ2ecP5
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) March 27, 2024
LeBron James exposes Darvin Ham's bad coaching for the Lakers
This might not seem like a big deal for some but it is never good as a head coach when your most prolific player goes on his podcast and publicly admits that he overruled you. Even worse, LeBron overruling Ham worked and directly led the Lakers to beat the Los Angeles Clippers last time they played.
The Lakers were down 13 heading into halftime and ended up winning the game in overtime after a great third quarter. The defensive tweak was not the only reason why the Lakers came back in that game, but it certainly played a factor.
This is not a good look for someone who has coached pretty poorly this season and cannot even admit when he has been so painstakingly wrong. Lakers fans have seen right through Ham for the bad coach he has been this season, and these public comments from LeBron only confirm that.
Worst of all is how LeBron ended this explanation to Redick. LeBron going out of his way to say that he might as well just prepare for the next game against Washington if the team wasn't going to change defensively says more than he may have even realized.
LeBron practically admitted that he has checked out in favor of the next game when things aren't going right for the Lakers because of Ham's coaching. The last thing any head coach in any sport wants is for his own players to check out because they don't believe in what he is doing.
The player-coach has not been a part of the NBA for a very long time and while LeBron does not officially have that title, he essentially is operating as such with all of the questionable decisions that his actual head coach is making.