[I WOULDN’T SAY MY LEADERSHIP STYLE CHANGED OVER THE YEARS.]

I liked challenging people and making them uncomfortable. That’s what leads to introspection and that’s what leads to improvement. You could say I dared people to be their best selves.

That approach never wavered. What I did adjust, though, was how I varied my approach from player to player. I still challenged everyone and made them uncomfortable, I just did it in a way that was tailored to them. To learn what would work and for who, I started doing homework and watched how they behaved. I learned their histories and listened to what their goals were. I learned what made them feel secure and where their greatest doubts lay. Once I understood them, I could help bring the best out of them by touching the right nerve at the right time.

At the beginning of our first championship run, Tex Winter put me in charge of the triangle offense.

He made me—young me—the de facto leader on the court. Some guys chafed when they heard me calling the shots, and I couldn’t have cared less. My philosophy was, Tex Winter—the Tex Winter— put me in control, and if you don’t like it, if you don’t like me calling you out for not being in the correct spot, tough.

Once guys understood my motivation, they started to fall in line. As I got older, they didn’t even need to understand why—they instinctively followed. They knew what my goals for the team were, and they knew what I was trying to do.

In my final years, I was really hard on D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance, Jr., my younger teammates. I was trying to use my 20 years of experience to expedite their growth. Now, a few years later, it’s gratifying to see that Jordan is wearing my number in Cleveland. That shows me they really internalized and understood my motivations and hopes for them.