Fizdale admired James’ basketball intelligence, diligence and leadership as the Heat trekked to back-to-back NBA titles in 2012 and 2013. There are a lot of similarities in the way the two operate when it comes to basketball, but James will never be a head coach in the NBA, according to Fizdale.
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“He would kill somebody. Perfection is like [his standard]. He wants perfection,” Fizdale told reporters Tuesday. “I could see him actually owning his own team and doing something like that, but I think [as a coach], he would end up killing a player at some point because they wouldn’t live up to the expectations that he would set forth.”
James agreed with Fizdale’s comments following a 103-86 win over the Grizzlies Tuesday.
“Yeah, he’s a little right,” James told reporters. “I don’t have, my patience is not — you’ve got to be very patient as a coach. I don’t think I have that much patience. Not that much.”
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While Fizdale teased James’ for his meticulousness, he praised him for being a great mentor in Miami.
“I don’t know if you’ll ever find anyone better than [James] and [Dwyane Wade] and Chris Bosh and those guys I was with down there [in Miami],” Fizdale said. “They were incredible leaders and basketball geniuses, so I was very lucky to be a part of that.”
