Coco Gauff and Andre Agassi's ex-coach reacts to LeBron James' faking dive and getting caught during NBA playoffs

Coco Gauff's ex-coach, Brad Gilbert, gave his take on LeBron James' sneaky move mid-game when the Los Angeles Lakers went against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the playoffs yesterday. Gilbert also boasted a tennis career and later turned to coaching and commentating for ESPN.

Continuing to opine on athletes and sports-related matters, Coco Gauff's ex-coach turned his attention to NBA veteran LeBron James, who was recently caught on camera during a sneaky move.

James, the Los Angeles Lakers player who has frequently been accused of flopping, was defending the Minnesota Timberwolves' Julius Randle in a recent playoff game. When the latter jumped and sank a floater, he hit James' face, leaving the four-time NBA champion floored. This prompted the referees to call an offensive foul on Randle.

However, later, when the cameras panned to the NBA's all-time leading scorer, King James seemed to be in visible pain but lifted one hand to take a sneaky peek at the refs. The LA Lakers won 94-85 in the playoffs, LeBron James' move went viral, drawing a reaction from Coco Gauff's ex-coach, too.

"Crazy, these dives and flops, and then have to go look see if flagrant foul, happens every game now."

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Brad Gilbert, who won 20 singles titles and an Olympic bronze in his career, coached several elite players, especially Andre Agassi. Gilbert led Agassi to six Grand Slam titles and coached other notable players like Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, and Coco Gauff.

Coco Gauff parted with Brad Gilbert in September 2024 after she failed to defend her US Open title

Gauff and Gilbert at the French Open Tennis Tournament. Roland-Garros 2024. - (Source: Getty)

Coco Gauff welcomed Brad Gilbert as her consultant before appointing him as her coach in 2023. Gauff and Gilbert won several titles, including the former's first Grand Slam singles title at the US Open in 2023. However, her form deteriorated following that, and she even cut her Flushing Meadows campaign short in 2024.

In September last year, Gilbert announced that he parted with Gauff's team. Expressing gratitude and wishing her luck for the future, he shared a post on X, reading:

"Thanks to @CocoGauff and the entire team for an absolutely amazing summer run in 2023 and for 14 months of incredible team effort. Coco, at just 20 years young, your future is incredibly bright, and I wish you nothing but continued success ahead. I’m excited for the next chapter in my Coaching career."

Gauff and Gilbert advanced to the semifinals at the Australian Open and French Open in 2024.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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Edited by Agnijeeta Majumder