LeBron has heated exchange with assistant coach

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: LeBron James has heated exchange with assistant coach Phil Handy

Originally posted on Game 7 | By Charles Kruger | Last updated 1/3/22

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-103 on Sunday evening. With the win, L.A. moved to 19-19 on the year. Minnesota, meanwhile, dropped to 16-20.

As has often been the case for the Lakers this season, even in victory they didn’t look particularly great, and the standout moment from this outing proved to be something totally unrelated to what happened on the court.

At the end of the second quarter, Lakers star LeBron James could be seen running over to 50-year-old assistant coach Phil Handy and having a very heated exchange with him.

The video speaks for itself:

LeBron and Phil Handy having a talkpic.twitter.com/RjOR9s0d6F

— Italo Santana (@BulletClubIta) January 3, 2022

At the moment when this incident occurred, L.A. held a 57-54 lead. The Lakers were shooting a solid 53 percent from the field but, as has often been the case this season, could not stop turning the ball over. They had 11 heading into halftime alone.

Whether that is what ultimately led to James’ frustration or something else remains unclear.

Handy has been an NBA assistant for more than a decade. In addition to his time with the Lakers, he has also been with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors. This isn’t his first rodeo.

That probably explains why he handled James relatively well in that moment.

This article first appeared on Game 7 and was syndicated with permission.

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