Who is Tyronn Lue?

By Jessica Eley

“In Northeast Ohio, nothing is given. Everything is earned. You work for what you have.” Lebron James penned those words in a letter to Sports Illustrated in 2014, proclaiming his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, after his four-year stint in Miami. Here are seven reasons, why Cavs’ head coach, Tyronn Lue, embodies that Northeast Ohio spirit of grit and grind.

1. Lue never forgets his humble beginnings, in small-town Mexico, Mo. Mexico is situated in the middle of the state, halfway between St.Louis and Kansas City, with just over 11,000 inhabitants. You can always count on a shout-out from him.

Lue at Raytown High

1. He’s faced his fair share of hardships. Lue attended Mexico High School for just his freshman year, before leaving, because one of his coaches refused to recognize his talent. Lue moved to Kansas City, finishing his high school hoops’ career at Raytown High School. During his senior season for the Bluejays, Lue averaged 23 points per game, leading his team to a 27-0 record, before falling in the state quarterfinals.

2. Lue is a winner! After playing three years at Nebraska, Lue was drafted in the first round of the 1998 NBA Draft to the Denver Nuggets and was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. With the Lakers, he won back-to-back championships in 2000 and 2001. Everyone shows Allen Iverson, stepping over Lue in the 2001 finals, but not his nasty defense on the 2016 Hall of Fame inductee.

3. The former player, turned coach, took over the Cavaliers halfway through the 2015-16 season, after the Cavs parted ways with David Blatt. Ty Lue faced a lot of criticism and doubt, but his former high school coach, believed in him. “He’s a natural leader,” Lue’s former high school coach at Raytown, Mark Scanlon said, according to the Kansas City Star. “He’s got great people skills. Those two things always stood out, and that’s a lot of coaching right there.”

4. The rookie coach isn’t afraid to tell it how it is…Anybody remember when he told, the best player in the world, Lebron James, to shut the f*** up?

5. Last Sunday, Cleveland hoisted the Larry O’Brien trophy for the first time in franchise history, thanks to a kid from Mexico, Mo, Tyronn Lue.

6. Just like the rest of Northeast Ohio, he’ll be celebrating this historic win for a very long time.

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