Boston Celtics assistant coach Charles Lee never lost faith in becoming an NBA coach

DALLAS – Charles Lee has been quite busy during the NBA Finals with both of his jobs.

The assistant coach is part of the Boston Celtics’ coaching staff in the Finals. The Celtics have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Finals entering Game 3 on Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC) against the Dallas Mavericks. Lee was also hired in May as the coach of the Charlotte Hornets, a job that he can’t fully engage in until after the Finals.

“It’s exciting that I get to do all of these things,” Lee told Andscape following the Celtics’ practice Tuesday. “It’s a blessing to have all these things on my plate.”

Lee has 10 years of experience as an assistant coach entering his first season with Boston. The Maryland native has been an assistant under then-coach Mike Budenholzer with the Milwaukee Bucks (2018-2023) and Atlanta Hawks (2014-18). Lee, a former star guard at Bucknell, got his coaching start as an assistant at his alma mater from 2012-14.

Lee also played professionally in Israel, Belgium and Germany. Lee interviewed for NBA coaching jobs with the Celtics, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards before getting his first coaching job with the Hornets.

Lee said he received “positive” feedback from interviews. Through all the rejections, Lee said, he “never” lost faith that he would become a coach in the NBA.

“My faith in myself. My faith in the right thing coming at the right time never wavered,” Lee said. “There was a lot of joy in getting the Charlotte job. And I also get to do it in a city that’s great. A basketball city. I get to work for a president that I have a ton of respect for. And he’s really good.

“And then there is a new ownership that is going to invest in the team and help us get to where we need to be. And the talent on the roster … There is so much excitement.”

Lee will be reunited with Hornets first-year executive vice president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson, who he said he remained connected with since their days with the Hawks. They will try to turn around a Hornets franchise that hasn’t been to the postseason since 2016, the longest current playoff drought in the NBA. The Hornets had a 21-61 record during the 2023-24 season with such standout players as the injury-plagued guard LaMelo Ball, forward Miles Bridges, center Mark Williams and the rookie sensation, forward Brandon Miller. The Hornets have about $40 million of projected salary cap space and have the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft.

Lee is confident that the rebuilding Hornets can be turned around soon.

“I’m so excited for a number of reasons,” Lee said. “Nothing is ever given to you. And you have to work for it. And that’s what I’m all about and the mentality I want to bring to Charlotte, too. It’s not going to be easy. No one is going to give us anything. But we have to work every day. You have to be obsessed with daily improvement …

“I’m up for the job. I’m up for the task. I have energy for the task and the people I’m going to surround myself with are going help me with that task. With what Jeff and his group are building along with ownership, I think we have the right people in place to kind of push us through some of these lean years.”

Lee said that he has received counsel from Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown on how to manage two jobs. Brown was an associate head coach for the 2022 NBA Golden State Warriors when he was hired as head coach of the Kings. Lee said his “biggest commitment” when he has free time from the Celtics is to build a connection with his Hornets players.

Lee had lunch with Ball and watched workouts twice in Charlotte, conducted Zoom calls with potential coaching staff members, and Peterson, Miller and Williams also came to Celtics playoff games. Lee told Andscape he also plans to coach the Hornets’ summer league team shortly after the Finals end.

“I actually reached out to Coach Brown,” Lee said. “And I remember reading that he was trying to do both during the Golden State-Sacramento time. I just wanted to hear from him. What are some nuggets of advice you can give me as I go through the same thing? But he was very helpful.

“The biggest thing is focusing on the right now, which I need to. When my Celtics hat is on, I’m fully engaged. That is where my mind is at. When I leave the arena, all of the sudden you have to think about your staff and connecting with your players and what does the training camp and summer league look like. I’ve been making pretty good progress.”

Lee will have his second NBA championship as an assistant coach if the Celtics win the NBA Finals. He was also an assistant with the Bucks when they won the 2021 NBA championship. Celtics president and former coach Brad Stevens and Celtics forward Al Horford believe the Hornets made a great choice.

“We all have been really impressed with Charles,” Stevens said. “Anybody that meets him and gets to know him already sees the engaging and outgoing personality. Unbelievable relational spirit about him. What was also very clear of Charles before we hired him and even more so now is how organized he is with every step of coaching and how he maintains this supreme positivity through every step of the way. I’m a big believer in him. I really like him.”

Horford, a former Hawks player who worked with Lee in Atlanta, said: “I’m very happy for him. I’ve known C-Lee since Atlanta. I just knew it was just a matter of time. He’s a really good basketball mind and he really has a really good feel for players and for the game.”

Former Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said Sunday that Celtics assistant and former Rockets guard Sam Cassell is ready for an NBA coaching job. Like Lee, the three-time NBA champion has paid his dues as well, serving 15 years as an assistant coach with the Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, LA Clippers and the Wizards.

“I still want an opportunity,” Cassell told Andscape. “I know that I can do it. I’m a leader. I haven’t failed in a sport in 30 years.”