Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James spent one season with Luke Walton as head coach last year, and it didn't go well.
James played in just 55 games, largely due to a groin injury that knocked him out for a month between December and January. The Lakes were ravaged by injuries up and down the roster, and the team didn't seem to vibe with James who was not-so-secretly trying to get some of his teammates traded for Anthony Davis at the trade deadline.
There was also plenty of chatter that Walton simply was not connecting with his club.
The end result was the Lakers winning just 37 games and missing the playoffs for the sixth straight year. It also marked the first time a LeBron-led squad failed to qualify for the postseason since James' second season in the NBA back in 2005.
Walton was fired at the end of last season, and now, Frank Vogel is the head coach of the Lakers and has guided the group to a 9-2 start.
While Walton — who took over as head coach of the Sacramento Kings in the summer — should be a distant memory now, James was asked about the job Walton did last season just ahead of the Lakers' matchup with the Kings on Friday night.
“I think he did as great of a job as he could do under the circumstances,” said James, according to Bill Oram of The Athletic.
We still don't really know what James' relationship with Walton was like, but it seems hard to imagine that James truly enjoyed playing for him given LeBron's history with coaches.
Follow Us
Subscribe