"No excuses": Coach K feared LeBron James was "punking" him while setting the #1 standard for USA Basketball with 2008 Redeem Team

Coach Mike Krzyzewski, popularly known as Coach K, is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball coaches of all time. He is most known for winning three gold medals at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Olympics.

In an interview by "Glue Guys Podcast" on Jan. 9, Coack K recounted his locker room meetings with the USA basketball team, which included superstars like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wayne, during preparations ahead of the 2008 Olympics.

The coach hilariously pointed out the moment he thought James was punking him in that meeting.

"We had like 14 standards and LeBron never said anything. I said I don't know if he was punking me. But he raises his hand and he's really good and he's a great friend. But he says, 'uh coach I've dreamed about winning this gold medal and playing with these guys,'" Coach K said (32:27).

"He's eloquent and and he said, 'no excuses' and he looked at everyone, 'I don't want to hear anything ever excuses.' That became our first standard."

"The Redeem Team" clinched the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, finishing the tournament with a perfect 8–0 record.

Coach K reveals two most important standards he set at Duke

Aside from his exploits with the USA national team, Coach K spent most of his career with the Duke Blue Devils where he coached for 42 years. The legendary coach developed two rules that defined his college career, which include winning five NCAA titles with the Duke team, reaching a record 13 Final Fours, 15 ACC tournament championships, and 13 ACC regular season titles.

In the recent appearance on the Glue Guys Podcast, Coach K talked about those standards.

"The two standards that I've always had was when we talk to each other, we look each other in the eye. And the second is we always tell each other the truth," he said (15:55).

"I said, like, if I'm recruiting Shane and I tell him, I'm going to be one of the few people in your life that will always tell you the truth. I promise you that. And I want the same in return. So like, boy, your shoes are really nice. Those slacks are, you know, that top sucks."

For Coach K, building trust among the players is the foundation of a successful organization. The coach also revealed he had no time to check his players' statements but trusted them to do the right thing, anyway. He also said that players have to believe in their coaches if they want help to get into the NBA.