Background and career
Tyronn Jamar Lue ( tə-RON LOO; born May 3, 1977) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has won NBA titles as a player and a head coach. A former point guard, Lue played college basketball for the Nebraska Cornhuskers before being selected by the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 1998 NBA draft with the 23rd overall pick. He was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers shortly thereafter. As a member of the Lakers, Lue won two NBA championships in his first three seasons. After his playing career ended in 2009, Lue became director of basketball development for the Boston Celtics. In 2014, he was hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers as associate head coach. Lue was promoted to head coach during the 2015–16 season, replacing the fired David Blatt. That year, he led the team to their first and only NBA title, defeating the defending champion Golden State Warriors and becoming a rare NBA rookie coach to lead his team to a title. Lue coached the Cavaliers to the Finals in the next two seasons, but lost both times to the Warriors, and was fired in October 2018. Lue went on to be the head coach of the Clippers and led them to their first Conference finals appearance.
Lue graduated from Raytown Senior High School in Raytown, Missouri. He later attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he played basketball and studied sociology. Lue was a key member of the 1995–96 team that won the 1996 National Invitation Tournament, defeating Saint Joseph's University in the finals. He finished his Cornhuskers career ranked third all-time in assists (432), fourth in three-pointers made (145) and attempted (407), fifth in steals (154) and seventh in scoring (1,577). Lue led Nebraska in assists in each of his three seasons and finished his career tied with Dave Hoppen for most games with 30 or more points (7). He declared for the NBA draft after his junior season.
Lue opted for early entry into the 1998 NBA draft. He was selected 23rd overall by the Denver Nuggets but was traded on draft night to the Los Angeles Lakers with Tony Battie for Nick Van Exel. His first three years with the Lakers were disappointing. His playing time was limited and he suffered from injuries in 2000. Lue came off the bench and was assigned to guard Allen Iverson during Game 1 of the Finals. Iverson finished with 48 points in 53 minutes in the Sixers 107-101 overtime win. Lue finished with 5 points in 22 minutes. In a memorable moment, Iverson executed a crossover and made a shot in front of Lue, then stepped over him. Although the 76ers won Game 1, the Lakers won the next four and the NBA championship; Lue appeared in each NBA Finals game. Lue scored 13 points in 51 minutes the rest of the series. He won his second consecutive NBA Championship with the Lakers, but this marked the end of his run with the team.
In the off-season of 2001, Lue signed with the Washington Wizards, where he got considerably more playing time and became a better point guard.
Lue played with the Orlando Magic in 2003–04 and had a lot of minutes alongside Tracy McGrady, but the team had the worst record in the NBA that season: 21–61.
After the season, Lue, McGrady, Juwan Howard, and Reece Gaines were traded to the Houston Rockets for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, and Kelvin Cato. In Houston, Lue's playing time decreased due to the overabundance of point guards.
