"Eddie Jones took us up under his wings" - Ty Lue went out 27 nights in a row before changing himself as a person

LA Clippers coach Ty Lue played in the NBA from 1998 to 2009. He started his career with the LA Lakers and was an understudy to Eddie Jones in his rookie season. He had a wild start to his career off the court, which changed him as a person.

On the All The Smoke podcast with Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, Lue discussed what it was like to be a rookie in Los Angeles. Jones took him and his childhood friend Jay "Doodles" Carter under his wing to show him the life of an NBA player.

"So me and 'Doodles' first get here, Eddie Jones took us up under his wings," Lue said.

"We went out 27 nights in a row. 27 nights in a row, for real. That right there changed who I was as a person. Never drank, never smoked but opened your eyes to a lot of different things. It was crazy."

Ty Lue spent the first three seasons of his NBA career with the LA Lakers. Lue was part of two championship teams in 2000 and 2001. He barely played in 2000 due to injury but was a pivotal backup in 2001.

Meanwhile, Eddie Jones was traded midway through Lue's rookie season in 1999. The Lakers handed the keys to a young Kobe Bryant, and he blossomed the season after when Jackson arrived as coach.

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Ty Lue's playing and coaching career

Ty Lue coaching the LA Clippers.

Ty Lue was the 23rd overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets. He was traded to the LA Lakers as part of the Nick Van Exel deal. He spent three years in LA and won two championships.

Lue bounced around the league as a serviceable backup point guard. He played for the Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks. He spent his final season with the Magic in 2009.

After 12 seasons in the NBA, Lue immediately went into coaching. He was the director of basketball development for the Boston Celtics from 2009 and became an assistant coach in 2011. He joined the coaching staff of the LA Clippers in 2013 before becoming an associate coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers a year later.

Lue was promoted as coach in the middle of the 2015-16 season. He guided the Cavaliers to their second straight NBA Finals appearance. He was at the helm when Cleveland recovered from a 3-1 deficit to win their first NBA championship, beating the mighty Golden State Warriors in seven games.

The Missouri native left Cleveland in 2019 to become an assistant coach for the Clippers. When Doc Rivers was fired a year later, he was promoted to head coach and has been in the position since.