Despite firing former head coach Frank Vogel and his staff, the Phoenix Suns have decided to reinstate one coach who also seems to have a good relationship with LeBron James.
The Suns will assign David Fizdale a “prominent assistant coaching role” on Mike Budenholzer’s staff, according to a report on X by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
What Is The Fizdale-LeBron James Connection?
Rumor has it that teams are attempting to draft James’ son Bronny in an attempt to wrest him away from the Lakers. “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,” one NBA executive was quoted as saying by HoopsHype.
On the May 28 episode of “Run It Back,” Shams Charania of The Athletic said that Bronny is “going to visit [only] a couple of those, and that’s going to include the Lakers and the Phoenix Suns,” despite receiving over ten invitations to workouts.
LeBron and Fizdale have a long history together that dates back to their Miami Heat days. During LeBron’s four seasons in Miami, Fizdale served as his head coach. After eight seasons, they got back together in Los Angeles.
In 2017, LeBron attended Fizdale’s wedding and requested that, as a wedding present, Fizdale appear with him in a Samsung commercial.
Both parties receive admiration and respect, with Fizdale vocal on the “All the Smoke” podcast on LeBron’s greater merit than he gets.
David Fizdale: Who Is He?
Fizdale has been an NBA coach for a long time. He joined the Golden State Warriors as an assistant coach in 2003 at the age of 29. He played for the Atlanta Hawks for four years following his one-year stay, and then joined the Miami Heat in 2008. For six seasons, Fizdale was an assistant coach for four NBA Finals teams (two of which won). From 2014 to 2016, he was promoted to associate head coach.
Taking a chance with Fizdale as their head coach for the 2016–17 campaign, the Memphis Grizzlies finished with a 43–39 record and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The following season, Fizdale was fired after just 19 games, which infuriated many, including LeBron James.
In 2018–19, Fizdale was given another opportunity to lead the New York Knicks as head coach. They finished with a terrible 17–65 record, and they were dismissed again after opening the 2019–20 season with just four victories in their first 22 games.
After taking a year off, Fizdale became an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021–2022, however he did not play again that season due to head coach Frank Vogel’s dismissal. Before Vogel was appointed head coach of the Suns and requested Fizdale to come as an assistant, the coach took another year off.
