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LeBron James has played for eight different head coaches so far during his career in the NBA. James was also coached by Larry Brown and Mike Krzyzewski during his time with Team USA. With Krzyzewski coaching the final home game of his career on Saturday night, James has termed the former the greatest basketball coach of all time.
Coach K will lead Duke in his 647th game at Durham, which will also be the final outing of his storied managerial career. Krzyzewski is set to retire at the end of the season. Many of his former Duke and Team USA players are expected to give him some form of adulation or congratulation.
One of them is LeBron James, who played under Coach K from 2006 to 2012. The duo won two Olympic gold medals, one FIBA Americas championship and a bronze medal in the 2003 FIBA World Cup. In a special video, "The King" gave the highest praise he could to the Duke legend, saying:
"Coach K is one of my favorite coaches, if not my favorite. I had an opportunity to play for him multiple times ,and his ability to connect with players from all different shapes and sizes and age groups, it’s unbelievable. You understand, and you know why he’s the leader and the ‘G.O.A.T’ that he is. I think he’s the greatest of all time," James said.
In addition to Coach K, some of the coaches James has played under include Erik Spoelstra, Mike Brown, Luke Walton, Tyronne Lue, Frank Vogel and David Blatt. James won two NBA championships with Spoelstra, one with Lue and another with Vogel.
Coach K's relationship with LeBron James
Mike Krzyzewski had a tough task to restore the greatness of Team USA after they failed to win gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Coach K put together one of the greatest teams ever assembled, with players such as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
With James in the early days of his career, he was very skeptical of coach Krzyzewski, as the latter was never in the NBA. Team USA lost the 2006 FIBA World Cup, which put their relationship in jeopardy. Entering the 2008 Beijing Olympics, there was tension between Coach K and "The King."
Nevertheless, putting aside their differences and their egos, Coach K and James won gold medals at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics as their relationship grew over the years.
About three years ago, Coach K scouted James' son Bronny during a game. Bronny James has been linked with Duke, but he might not have the opportunity to play under the legendary coach.
That's because Krzyzewski is set to end his career in the final game of the season.
