LeBron James Reveals He Vetoed Lakers HC Darvin Ham So He Could Guard Kawhi Leonard

LeBron James has always had a reputation of being a coach on the court, but sometimes that even veers into him overruling his own coach.

The Los Angeles Lakers star admitted he vetoed coach Darvin Ham's defensive strategy during a recent game against the Clippers so he could defend Kawhi Leonard one-on-one.

"We had switching built in versus Kawhi and versus James [Harden] and whatever the case may be, and I vetoed it in the second half," James said on his Mind the Game podcast (20:00 mark). "I know T-Lue more than any other player that's ever been with T-Lue, and I know he plays target ball too. It got to a point where I knew in order for us to get back into the game, switching anybody else onto Kawhi is not favorable for us. So I might as well get ready for [the next game]."

James spearheaded a comeback from 19 points down in the fourth quarter of a Feb. 28 game against the Clippers, scoring 19 points in the fourth by himself while playing lockdown defense on Leonard. The Clippers star didn't exactly get shut down by James—he had 12 points in the second half—but LeBron sticking to one-on-one defense allowed the rest of his teammates to lock in on Leonard's co-stars.

While it's no surprise that James would take on a defensive assignment in a critical moment, it is noteworthy that he admitted vetoing Ham. Most would assume James has the right to call his own number at any point, but it's another thing to undermine the credibility of his coach publicly.

It's almost certain Ham doesn't care—especially because the Lakers won the game—but it's at least a little eyebrow-raising.