LeBron James has been in a variety of tough positions through his career. This particular one where David Blatt asks to speak to him in a towel fits right in.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers hired David Blatt as the head coach at the start of the 2014-15 season. Blatt came over from the Euroleague, having coached Maccabi Tel Aviv to a championship. Many saw him as one of the elite coaches in the sport.
For sportspersons, it is common to take showers at their places of work. It is less so for the coaches, but it is nothing out of the realm of the ordinary. For LeBron to react like this would mean that coaches he met in the NBA are a bit more circumspect in this regard.
Why LeBron James refused to talk to David Blatt in a towel
At the start of 2016, a couple of days before being fired, David Blatt was facing the heat. The Cavs had just lost a Christmas Day game to the Warriors in embarrassing fashion.
As James made his way out of the locker room, he was stopped by Blatt who “swung open the door to his office,”. Blatt wanted to speak with The King with just a towel on. “C’mon Coach,” he said. “I can’t talk to you like this.”
Eventually, James caved into Blatt’s request and spoke with his head coach. After a few moments, LeBron came out of the office, walked over to Tristan Thompson and told him, “That man was naked.”
David Blatt, wrapped in a towel, has conversation w/LeBron in his office — sorry ladies, no pics https://t.co/kWePmLaLsq
— Busted Coverage (@bustedcoverage) January 6, 2016
David Blatt was seen as a coach too enamoured by his offensive principles. After he was fired, James took over more of the ball-handling responsibilities. The Cavs were able to snag the top seed in the East and make their way to a championship win that season with an improbable comeback from 3-1 down in the Finals.
