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NBA: Ranking every active head coach by playing career

By Corey Rausch

March 23, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
March 23, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tyronn Lue
Tyronn Lue (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) /

Every NBA head coach ranked by playing career: 7. Tyronn Lue

Tyronn Lue is most famous for one of the most embarrassing moments of his playing career, when Allen Iverson stepped over him in an NBA Finals game. That minimizes just how good he was as a player.

Lue played his collegiate basketball at the University of Nebraska where he was second-team All-Big 12 as a sophomore and made the first team as a junior. In his final season, he averaged 21.2 points, 4.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. Lue was good enough to get drafted 23rd overall by Denver Nuggets and was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Lue played three seasons with the Lakers, appearing in just 61 regular-season games. He was part of two championship teams in Los Angeles, including the infamous moment involving Allen Iverson. Lue would go on to play for the Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks. He would enjoy his most individual success in Atlanta where he averaged 11.0 points and 3.6 assists per game over four seasons.

After his playing days, Lue moved into a front-office role with the Boston Celtics before moving onto the bench as an assistant coach two years later. He would stay with the Celtics until Doc Rivers moved on to the LA Clippers and followed Rivers there for one season until joining the Cleveland Cavaliers as associate head coach.

Lue ended up taking over as the head coach amid his second season and led the Cavaliers to their first NBA title in 2016. After parting ways, he would be an assistant for the Los Angeles Clippers again before replacing Doc Rivers as the head coach.