LeBron James told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that he started focusing on his “mental fitness” after losing the 2011 Finals to the Dallas Mavericks.
LeBron James is opening up about his journey on the way to “mental fitness” now that he’s partnering with the Calm app for a new series of content entitled “Train Your Mind.”
As part of this new partnership, LeBron James opened up about his own journey with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin to what he refers to as “mental fitness.” According to James, he started taking mental training more seriously after losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals. The Heat was seen as big favorites and a loss in his first NBA Finals with them following his momentous arrival was widely seen as a career-low point for him. But James felt his issues were more mental than physical.
After Dallas, I knew that the physical side wasn’t going to be enough. And how I got out of my comfort zone, I lost the love of fun for the game. And I knew that was the mental side.
James says he’s found ways to meditate in a hostile environment because of his mental training.
When you’re on the road, 20-thousand screaming fans going crazy, to be able to find a moment, two minutes,a minute, 30 seconds, to close my eyes and calm myself. It’s meditation basically. It’s worked tremendously for me in my career.
The New York Knicks have parted ways with head coach David Fizdale, leaving an opportunity for someone else to try fixing the franchise.
The New York Knicks have parted ways with head coach David Fizdale, leaving an opportunity for someone else to try fixing the franchise.
You have probably heard the big-name candidates like Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and Kenny Smith, especially since they all have big profiles now as regulars on television and have ties to either New York or the Knicks.
There are also the familiar faces who may get consideration and you’ve probably seen them other lists – coaches like Tom Thibodeau, Ty Lue, Jason Kidd, Mike Brown and Mark Woodson.
Other obvious names to consider are assistants Mike Miller (not the one who played in the NBA) and Pat Sullivan, both of whom are current assistants. Miller has been named the interim head coach, so it’s possible that he could take over permanently if he does a great job. New York also has two other assistants (Kaleb Canales and Jud Buechler) who will be asked to step up with Fizdale and former assistant coach Keith Smart gone.
Perhaps no one makes more sense than former NBA All-Star Chauncey Billups, who played for the Knicks in 2011 and has connections to the team’s front office (since he played under current GM Scott Perry in Detroit). However, he has maintained that he is more interested in becoming a front-office executive than coaching.
Regardless, this is a tough job and someone who has ties to their front office in some ways may have an advantage since this is such a crucial hire. Here are some under-the-radar candidates to keep an eye on as the Knicks conduct their coaching search.
Craig Robinson
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Back in April 2018, Frank Isola actually mentioned Knicks executive Craig Robinson as a potential candidate for their head coaching vacancy before they eventually hired Fizdale (via New York Daily News):
“Robinson is another longshot Knicks candidate, according to a team source. The former Oregon State head coach — and brother of former First Lady Michelle Obama — currently serves as the Knicks’ VP of player and organization development.”
Robinson was the head coach at Oregon State from 2008 until 2014. During his playing days at Princeton, he was teammates with Steve Mills — the President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks. It is also worth mentioning that former NBA champion coach Dave Blatt was one of their teammates as well, though he is currently dealing with serious health issues.
Becky Hammon
Knicks should ask to interview Becky Hammon for their head coaching position
Becky Hammon was once a fixture at Madison Square Garden, as she played for the New York Liberty from 1999 until 2006. The San Antonio Spurs assistant was once again promoted within the Spurs organization last year and has been a fixture on the sidelines during Summer League games for the team as well. She has received some consideration for other head coaching jobs recently, such as the Milwaukee Bucks’ and Detroit Pistons’ gigs. One of the looming questions for her is how long Gregg Popovich will remain head coach in San Antonio. If he decides to retire soon, she could be in line to take over as the next head coach of the Spurs.
Adrian Griffin
(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
While he is currently the lead assistant coach for the defending champion Toronto Raptors, Adrian Griffin could make some sense for the New York Knicks. He attended college in New Jersey at Seton Hall University, where he is in their athletics Hall of Fame. During his final NBA campaign in 2007-08, he played 13 games for the Seattle Supersonics. Scott Perry was the Assistant General Manager for Seattle that season. Then, when Perry was the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Orlando Magic in 2015-16, Griffin was one of the team’s assistant coaches.
Darvin Ham
(Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
Former NBA champion Darvin Ham played for the Detroit Pistons from 2003 through 2005. During that time, Perry served as the Director of Player Personnel for the organization, so he’s familiar with Ham. Ham has previously been in consideration for head coaching positions with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers. We also previously mentioned him as a potential candidate for the head coaching vacancy with the Atlanta Hawks in 2018 before the team went in a different direction.
Chad Forcier
(Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
Milwaukee Bucks assistant Chad Forcier was an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons (2001-03) when Perry was the team’s Director of Player Personnel. He later served as an assistant for the Orlando Magic, including the final year Perry was their assistant general manager (2016-17). He worked directly with Gregg Popovich when he was an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs and has served as a lead assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies. His ties to Perry and coaching experience could make him an interesting candidate to watch.
The Nets look good now, but the franchise has been through some rough times. Back in 2009-10, the franchise was the doormat of the NBA.
The Brooklyn Nets have 10 wins through their first 20 games of the 2019-20 season, placing them seventh in the Eastern Conference standings. A .500 start isn’t exactly earthshattering for the Nets. Some might even consider 10-10 a disappointment.
Ten years ago, Nets fans would’ve been plenty happy with a 10-10 start. Ten years ago, the Nets were the worst team in the NBA — and Monday marked the anniversary of the record they set in 2009-10.
Prior to 2009-10, two teams had lost 17 consecutive games to start a season in the history of the NBA: the 1988-89 Miami Heat and 1998-99 Los Angeles Clippers (lockout season).
Twenty-one seasons after the Heat set their record, the New Jersey Nets broke it on December 2, 2009 when they lost their 18th game in a row in a 117-101 finish against the Dallas Mavericks.
On that December night in New Jersey, Dirk Nowitzki scored 24 points for the Mavs and ex-Nets point guard Jason Kidd scored 16, had 10 assists, grabbed eight rebounds and finished with five steals.
For New Jersey, Chris Douglas-Roberts led with 24 points. Devin Harris had 17 and Brooke Lopez scored 16.
The Nets would snap their losing streak with a 97-91 win over the Charlotte Bobcats two nights later.
New Jersey would finish 2009-10 with a 12-70 record, the worst finish in franchise history.
Jason Kidd, Avery Johnson, WIllis Reed and others played in the NBA and went on to coach the Nets.
The Nets are on their 25th head coach, Kenny Atkinson. To no surprise, 11 of those coaches were former players of different levels. Here is who they are and what they did as players and coaches.
Max Zaslofsky
NBA Photo Library/NBAE via Getty Images
Max Zaslofsky was the NBA scoring champ in 1948 and an All-Star in 1952. Zaslofsky was named to the All-NBA first team in 1947–48, 1948–49 and 1949–50. He coached for two seasons in the ABA with the New Jersey Americans/New York Nets and went 53-103 before resigning in March 1969.
Several players on the Los Angeles Lakers have praised their coaching staff for preparing the team on a nightly basis.
The Los Angeles Lakers are riding high after the first full month of NBA basketball with a 14-2 record, sitting atop the standings in the league. All of the players who have contributed have also gotten their worthy moments in the spotlight and the headlines.
But a less talked about group that was also almost completely changed over from last season to this year is their coaching staff, led by Frank Vogel. Few expected the Lakers to star this well and while some of the skepticism was due to the roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, so to was there skepticism because Vogel was seen by many as the third, or perhaps even fourth choice, behind Ty Lue, Monty Williams and his own assistant Jason Kidd.
The Lakers have washed all of those skeptics away with their play, which is also due in part to the communication and preparation of their coaching staff. Rajon Rondo believes Vogel’s ability to communicate with LeBron James sets the tone for how the staff talks with the rest of the team, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick.
If you can talk to (LeBron as the coach), you can talk to anybody. (Vogel’s) delivery, his communication, is great. That’s what I think I’m learning (about) for my future, if I want to go that route. I take notes every day. I’m trying to learn from coach. Sometimes I’ll write them down. Sometimes I’ll take a picture of the scouting report, what his philosophy is before the game and take a couple things I love about what he does and just continue to grow as a player.
Offensively, they are living at the rim, which is the most efficient zone and they’re also shooting better from the outside as a team even if their volume is near the bottom of the league. Defensively, they are protecting the rim at an excellent rate while also contesting 3-point shots and getting their hands on loose balls.
But while the players are making plays, Frank Vogel, Kidd and the rest of the Lakers staff have done their job of putting the team in a position to win on a nightly basis.
