Ty Lue Admits Breaking Kevin Garnett & Celtics’ Rule, Saving Hungry Coaches

Sometimes Kevin Garnett didn’t need to howl or drop an F-bomb or dunk to have an impact. A Chill KG could change the system with little effort, claims Ty Lue. He’s shown some fierce loyalty for the Big Ticket before. By his description, we can see how that started.

During his recent appearance on Club Shay Shay, Lue recalled the early days of his coaching career when the Celtics hired him as an assistant in 2011. They had won the 2008 championship by then, and KG was the undisputed leader of the organisation. Whereas Lue was at the bottom of the food (eating) chain.

“When I first got there, they would serve food after the game, right? And so it’s kind of how it really opened up for me. They would put the food in the locker room, and the coaches would never eat,” he told Shannon Sharpe. In typical Ty Lue fashion, he went against the player-coach norm. “So one day, I’m hungry as hell. I walk in the locker room and I start fixing me a plate.” Scandalous!

Lue apparently didn’t know the unspoken rule, “Paul Pierce and [Rajon] Rondo go, ‘Oh, KG, T-Lue’s getting food.’ I was like, ‘What?‘” It’s not clear if Garnett established this rule for the other players to tattle to him, but they did get his attention.

“So I’m getting my food or whatever. So KG said, ‘Man, T-Lue’s getting food. I can’t do nothing about that.’” By that statement, KG created Disney-level magic and gave Tyronn Lue the kind of position most first-time assistant coaches won’t get in the NBA. “So they’re going crazy, like, ‘Oh man, you let T-Lue?’ So then, after that, all the coaches were able to come in and get food. Before, the coaches couldn’t eat until all the players ate first. I’m like, ‘Man, we’ve been up doing scouts and working at 7:00 in the morning. Man, you’re crazy. I’m hungry. We’re doing the same thing.’ They couldn’t touch the food until the players ate first. So I was like, ‘Man, hell no. You’re tripping.‘”

As happy as the coaching staff was to eat the same food as the pampered players, this moment was far more significant for Lue on his first-ever coaching stint since retiring as a player. “When I did that, it kind of opened up everything. Guys were like, ‘Oh man, KG let T-Lue do whatever you want to do.’ And so then after that, I just had all their respect.”

Ty Lue not only earned respect among the players, but he also developed a lot of respect for Kevin Garnett. Enough that he wanted to bring it back to the NBA.

Ty Lue had a job for Kevin Garnett

When Tyronn Lue retired, Kevin Garnett was in his prime. He led the Celtics to a championship and was DPOY. Even with a season-ending injury, his leadership was indisputable. He’d retire in 2016, the same year Ty Lue got his first head coaching position.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, with a returning LeBron James, had promoted their former assistant coach Lue to head coach mid-season in 2016. The following season, Lue agreed to a multi-year deal with the Cavs and went about building his staff. Among his first choices was KG. Yeah, despite the insane rivalry between Garnett’s Celtics and the Bron-led Miami Heat before that. As cool as Coach Ticket would’ve been, he turned down Lue’s offer.

“He says he’s not ready yet,” Lue said a decade ago. “He goes back, ‘I might do it,’ but he’s back and forth. We’ll see. But I’d definitely make a spot for him if he wanted to come back and coach. He’s one of my best friends.”

Lue didn’t mind the rejection, and he’s still Garnett’s friend. Lately, KG went viral for training Victor Wembanyama, and it made a few wonder what kind of coach he’d make. If Ty Lue had his way, we’d know.