Tyronn Lue reveals he’s worked on his mental and physical health to become a better leader

5 years ago, Tyronn Lue suffered a chest pain that alarmed the entire NBA world and forced him to retire temporarily from coaching basketball as he had just led the Cavaliers to its first league championship. Now that he’s the Clippers tactician, he still lives under pressure as he’s guiding one of the most talented squads to their franchise’s first-ever trophy. 

The former player believes he’s taken the necessary precautions for this to never happened again and handle the responsibility with conviction. “It’s a tough season, a lot of stressing and pressures,” he recently admitted to the press.

“When you’re dealing with that, you get lazy. You don’t work out. You get fatigued. I just try to have a whole different slate and tried something different. It’s been good,” Tyronn added this week.

LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue has improved his physical, mental health https://t.co/G8MlM69hqN

— William Rodgers Jr (@WillRodgersJr) February 29, 2024

In Los Angeles, Lue has been receiving advice from Clippers vice president of medical Maggie Bryant, as well as head strength and condition coach Daniel Shapiro. The 46-year-old has been working on the stationary fitness machine, walking daily on an elliptical, and soon hopes to begin weight lifting.

According to the trainer, he’s already lost 30 pounds since last summer. “I’ve been working out. Eating better. I still have my moments. [I’m] Eating less. It’s been good,” he shared. “Daniel has done a good job of staying on me because I can stray away. I’m just doing 20 to 30 minutes per day. Now I’m about 208 [pounds]. Back [in Cleveland] I was 241. I can’t believe I got that big.”

With respects to his diet, Lue told the press that he only eats one to one-and-a-half meals per day, with the occasional snack, but nothing too big. The head coach admitted that he’s pretty strict about it, especially on days when there are no NBA matches.

“I try to eat once a day, most of the time at 3 o’clock [p.m.] every day and I’ll be good. I’ve trained myself, trained my mind,” he revealed about taking care of his health.

Former pupil Kevin Love recalls how poorly Lue was handling his health back when he coached the Cavaliers

Back in March 19, 2018, Tyronn released a statement where he announced that it was “best for the team and my health” to leave the Cleveland club temporarily as he wished to take time to recover. One of his former players Kevin Love recalled how the roster was noticing how “physically and mentally it was taking a toll” on their coach.

“He wasn’t sleeping. When he came to practice, he was exhausted and cooked. And then he went home and slept,” the forward shared. “And then it was just kind of the same thing over and over again when we got back from long road trips, back-to-backs or whatever it was. It was the grind of the season, personal habits and everything that goes into putting so much into the game and us. Having expectations and having to juggle so much was a lot.”

The 46-year-old explained that he had been suffering “chest pains and other troubling symptoms, compounded by a loss of sleep, throughout the year.” That was when Larry Drew, his associate head coach Larry Drew, took on the responsibility to lead the Cavs.

“It was caused by the stress levels. Not working out. Eating bad. I wasn’t sleeping,” Ty expressed. “I was trying to be good, make sure the team was in the right spot. Your goal is try to win a championship. A lot is on the line with that.”