'You could actually raise your voice to players, and they'd understand' - Riley talks about changes in coaching and the lack of authority over today's stars

The salary disparity between NBA players and coaches has created a strange dynamic. The players are the highest-paid individuals on a team — and rightfully so because they're the ones who put their minds and bodies on the line for the organization's sake.

However, while players have free will, their movements on the court are highly dependent on their coach, whose salary is less than the players.

Coaches weren't intimidated by the stars 

Interestingly, this wasn't always the case in the NBA. According to Pat Riley, coaches could confront their team—both role players and superstars—if they're not doing their job properly. The legendary coach recalls Jerry Buss telling him not to be intimidated by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and their superstar stature.

"He would call me in some days, and he'd say, 'Hey, hey, be a coach. Coach him! Don't be afraid of him just because he's Kareem, just because he's Magic. Coach him," Riley said, per nba.com. "I sense that you're deferring to these guys a little." Back in those days, you could actually raise your voice to players, and they'd understand. Today, you can't."

This may be the reason for the Lakers' dominance in the 80s. They were one solid unit operating in unison, not an organization hindered by hierarchy. They saw each other as equals and were open to criticism. The LA squad's championship campaign in the 80s was the product of mutual respect.

Asserting control

It must have been strange for Pat when LeBron James flocked to South Beach and asserted his power over the entire franchise. The Miami Heat executive revealed that things went sour in the 2010-11 season. So much so that after a sorry loss to the Dallas Mavericks, James hinted that Riley should fire head coach Erik Spoelstra and take over the job.

But Riles isn't alone in this regard. Over the years, fans have witnessed feuds between superstars and coaches or front-office executives. Allen Iverson's feud with Larry Brown also made the headlines from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. 

Some say "The Answer" was not keen on Brown's traditional ways. Fortunately, they eventually patched things up, which resulted in the legendary 2001 Playoffs run. Brown was even one of Iverson's presenters in the Hall of Fame.

The Riley-James and Iverson-Brown feuds are tame compared to what went down between Latrell Sprewell and P.J. Carlesimo. In 1997, when he was playing for the Golden State Warriors, Sprewell infamously choked his coach. The swingman was slapped with a 68-game suspension and labeled a troublemaker. The Warriors terminated his $23.7 million contract. 

The evolution of the player-coach dynamic reflects how much the NBA has changed over the decades, with superstars holding more influence than ever before. While mutual respect remains key to success, "The Godfather's" anecdotes remind us of a time when coaches weren’t afraid to challenge even the biggest names to bring out their best.