Suns Retain Longtime LeBron James Coach & Supporter as Assistant

Getty David Fizdale coaches up his team from the sidelines.

The Phoenix Suns may have fired previous head coach Frank Vogel and his staff, but the new regime has decided to bring back one coach who happens to have a positive history with LeBron James.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on X that the Suns would be giving David Fizdale a “prominent assistant coaching role” on Mike Budenholzer’s staff.

How Does Fizdale Tie Into LeBron James?

There has been speculation that teams are trying to pry James from the Lakers by drafting his son Bronny. HoopsHype noted that an NBA executive said, “You have to have the conversation internally, especially if you’re a team in the West because if you can improve your chances of landing LeBron James, [drafting Bronny] could significantly improve your chances.”

Despite getting more than 10 workout invites, Bronny is “going to visit [only] a couple of those, and that’s going to include the Lakers and the Phoenix Suns,” according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania on the May 28 episode of “Run It Back.”

Fizdale and LeBron have a strong history together, dating back to their days with the Miami Heat. LeBron was in Miami for four seasons, all with Fizdale on the coaching staff. They reunited eight seasons later in Los Angeles.

LeBron went to Fizdale’s wedding and insisted Fizdale join him in a Samsung commercial as a wedding gift in 2017. The respect and adoration go both ways, with Fizdale being outspoken on the “All the Smoke” podcast about LeBron deserving more credit than he gets.

There would still be significant hurdles to overcome if LeBron wanted to join his son in Phoenix. He would need to decline his player option and become a free agent. Then, the Suns would have to offer him a contract, but they are significantly over the salary cap and wouldn’t be able to lure LeBron with anything close to market value.

It’s more likely a fever dream, but the idea of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Bradley Beal and LeBron taking the court has to be giving rival GMs the cold sweats.

Who Is David Fizdale?

Fizdale is a longtime NBA coach, getting his start as a 29-year-old in 2003 as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors. After a one-year stint, he moved on to the Atlanta Hawks for four years before landing with the Miami Heat in 2008. Fizdale served as an assistant coach for six seasons, including four NBA Finals teams (two winners), ascending to the associate head coach spot from 2014-16.

The Memphis Grizzlies took a chance on Fizdale as their head coach for the 2016-17 season, resulting in a 43-39 record and a first-round playoff exit. Fizdale lasted just 19 games the next season before being relieved of his duties, which drew dissent, most notably from LeBron.

Fizdale got another chance as a head coach in 2018-19, with the New York Knicks. They put together a horrendous 17-65 record and then started the 2019-20 campaign with just four wins in their first 22 games, which led to another dismissal.

After a year off, Fizdale joined the 2021-22 Los Angeles Lakers staff as an assistant coach but did not return the following season after head coach Frank Vogel was fired. Fizdale took another year off before Vogel was hired as Suns’ head coach and asked him to join as an assistant.