Tyronn Lue discloses what makes Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and LeBron James ‘all the same’

By Jonathan Sherman
Updated: March 30, 2022

To many fans, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are the defining faces of each player’s era of basketball.

They are also widely considered to be three of the best players in the history of the game.

During a recent podcast appearance, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue shared a key similarly between the three legendary ballers.

“Just seeing Kobe first, and then I left there and went to Washington and played with Jordan when he was 40,” Lue said. “Just seeing those two, and the way they worked, and how they grinded, and then, like you said, getting LeBron, those three guys, they all the same. Want to win, whatever it takes to win, but their work ethic — you come to the gym, you come in two hours early, and they already finished the workout. They sweating. They’re done.”

Lue is one of the few people to have firsthand experience with all three legendary players. As he explained, he played with Bryant on the Los Angeles Lakers. He then played with Jordan on the Washington Wizards. Finally, after his playing career came to an end, he ended up coaching LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Multiple seasons ago, Lue was seen as a prime candidate to land the Lakers head coaching job. However, the two sides did not end up together.

Now, he is helping lead the Clippers to a likely spot in this year’s play-in tournament despite dealing with injuries to key players for much of the season.

As for the Lakers, they’re currently out of the play-in tournament. They’ll have to win a decent number of their remaining games if they want their campaign to last longer than the regular season.