Former Los Angeles Lakers player and head coach Byron Scott believes that LeBron James, an active roster member, should fill their vacant head coaching position.

Lakers coach Darvin Ham was fired from his head coaching role in Los Angeles after the Lakers were eliminated from the NBA Playoffs by the Denver Nuggets in the first round for the second consecutive year. Despite leading the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals last season and winning the inaugural in-season tournament, Ham’s tenure ended with the team in just two years.

Drawing from his time coaching the Lakers from 2014-16, Scott initially explained that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer wouldn’t allow their coach Ty Lue to go to the Lakers despite his ties to the organization. He then suggested that James should be the head coach of the Lakers, putting his name among rumored contenders for the job, including JJ Redick.

“Make LeBron the coach,” said Scott on Undisputed across from Skip Bayless. “I got nothing but love and respect for LeBron. I love him and I think he’s one of the greatest players that ever played this game. But its obvious to me that he’s making a lot of decisions that is going on in this [Lakers] organization from a coaches and players standpoint.”

“So if you’re going to allow him to make those decisions, sit on the bench and make those decisions as well,” he continued. “Be the head coach.”

Although rare, there have been several instances in NBA history where a player was a head coach and an active member of the team’s roster. Bill Russell led the Celtics to 11 NBA championships as a player and served as Boston’s coach, guiding them to two NBA titles in 1968 and 1969.

The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs© Getty Images/The Denver Post

Dave DeBusschere was appointmented as the player-coach of the Detroit Pistons in 1964, becoming the youngest head coach in the league at 24 years old. He remained a pivotal contributor on the court, showcasing his scoring by averaging 16.4 points per game in his own offense.

Rich Paul, LeBron’s longtime friend and agent, expressed his belief that James has at least two or three more years left in his NBA career, potentially extending his time in the league until he reaches the age of 42. Reflecting on James journey since entering the league in 2003 as the second-youngest player, Paul’s projection could position him among the NBA’s oldest active players, potentially tying for fourth place on that list.

James is engaged in various off-court ventures, including a podcast co-produced by his Uninterrupted and Redick’s ThreeFourTwo Productions, titled “Mind the Game,” co-hosted with Redick. During the video series, the duo offers detailed insights into basketball, coaching viewers through various aspects of the game, including actions, plays, and terminology.