In 2001, the diminutive Tyronn Lue was a rarely used, backup point guard out of Nebraska who had amassed just 802 minutes of NBA court time in his first three regular seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Lue continued to be a nobody through the first three rounds of the playoffs, in which he averaged just 5.8 minutes of action over 10 games.
The Lakers would win all those games, sweeping Portland, Sacramento, and San Antonio. In the Finals, the Allen Iverson-led Philadelphia 76ers awaited.
And just like that, everything changed.
Not having a defensive answer for Iverson, the league's scoring champ, Phil Jackson looked down to the end of his bench and pointed at Lue. The nobody would quickly become a somebody, applying seriously annoying defense on Iverson while averaging just under 15 minutes per game.
In short, Lue, a free agent-to-be who looked like he was on his way out of the league, made a name for himself in one playoff series and got signed to a two-year, $4-million deal with the Washington Wizards. He would go on to play eight more seasons in the NBA.
There are stories much like Lue's every year. Recently, both James Posey and Trevor Ariza turned stellar postseason ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Adrian Vicente
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