Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue revealed to ESPN’s Rachel Nichols that he is currently being treated for anxiety. Lue stepped away from the team in mid-March to deal with what was described simply as “chest pains”. Assistant Larry Drew took over the team in Lue’s absence.
Since then, the Cavs head coach has made some changes to his lifestyle, but ultimately says he is fortunate too. “I’m glad it wasn’t anything serious,” Lue told Nichols in the exclusive interview. “Just anxiety, and the medication I’m on is great. No more chest pains, so everything’s been great.”
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst also says that Lue had been having chest pains and was occasionally coughing up blood. During the break from coaching, Lue utilized the time away to focus on himself.
I think for the first time in my career, 20 years, I had a chance to focus on me. It wasn’t as bad as people thought it was. But I did have some chest pains for the last couple of years. And I was just trying to be able to get through it not knowing what was wrong with me,” Lue continued in the interview. “So the two weeks I took off, just finally had a chance to focus on myself and change my diet. Hired a chef. Stopped drinking as many Shirley Temples. And stopped with the sweets and got back to taking care of myself. Now I feel great.”
Tyronn Lue also mentions in the interview that he wanted to coach all 82 games while LeBron James played in all 82. Unfortunately, it did not end up that way.
“I think when you’re going through a tough season, tough stretch, it’s easy to say you’re going to bow out. And I didn’t want to be that guy. It was tough,” Lue says in the interview. “LeBron [James] playing all 82 games, I wanted to be able to coach all the 82 games and give the team everything they needed.”
At the end of the day though, being able to coach in the NBA Finals again makes all of the pain from the season worth it. “I don’t like the attention. But I love coaching. I love when you’re able to succeed and seeing the look on guys’ faces,” Lue said. “A lot have not been to the Finals, the George Hills and Jeff Greens, and all those guys having a chance to go to the NBA Finals and play for the championship, that’s when it’s worth it. And it feels good, and all the guys feel good, so I’m happy that we’re here now.”
Anxiety is a word that has been used many times throughout the Cavs season. Beyond the constant roster turnover and inconsistent play, Kevin Love has also dealt with anxiety and mental health hurdles as well.
