Phil Handy’s happy place measures 94 by 50 feet.

It was why Handy — who has coached LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, and was on the sidelines of his fourth consecutive NBA Finals four weeks ago — was tutoring five high school-aged basketball players at St. Francis School gym on an Independence Day morning.

“It’s always good to give back and share knowledge,” Handy said. “That’s kind of been a thing for me over the last few years. … I’m here in the gym at 8 in the morning because basketball has been it for me. That’s all. I just love the game, and being able to share knowledge and help kids and coaches.”

Later in the day, Handy went to his alma mater, the University of Hawaii, to meet with the Rainbow Warrior coaches. Handy was a guard for two UH seasons in the mid-1990s before embarking on a training career that eventually led to jobs as an assistant/player-development coach with the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers.

When he was a UH shooting guard and pesky defender, he never imagined working with two of the sport’s greatest players.

“I can’t sit here and say I did,” Handy said. “I couldn’t really envision it. I always felt I wanted to be the best trainer in the industry. That was my goal when I first started (following a pro career overseas). But I didn’t see it taking the route that it has. I really enjoyed the whole journey, the whole process.”

Handy recently completed a five-year stint with the Cavaliers. He said he has received inquiries from other NBA teams. For now, he is working on his basketball-training business while exhaling on the Cavaliers’ run of four NBA Finals appearances.

“Man, really, unbelievable,” Handy said. “Just being able to get back to the Finals four years in a row, that’s an accomplishment in itself. I’ve talked to a lot of coaches in the NBA who have coached for years, and they’ve never even made it to the conference finals. That part is a tremendous blessing.”

Handy said he appreciated his working relationship with James.

“He’s very coachable,” Handy said. “He’s always wanting to learn, to get better. He wants to be pushed. He’s always one of those guys who’s looking for a challenge, and he expects his coaches to coach and push him.”

Handy disputed the widely perceived notion of James as a micro-manager.

“He’s an easy guy to coach,” Handy said. “He’s not what people think. He’s a very smart, cerebral player. He has a very high IQ. … He’s a coach’s dream in a lot of ways. He’s going to challenge you a lot because he’s so smart. But him and T-Lue (head coach Tyronn Lue) had a really good relationship. T-Lue is very good at being a players’ coach and listening to his players. They bounced a lot of stuff off each other.”

On James’ decision to leave the Cavaliers and sign with the Lakers, Handy said: “I think LeBron did what was best for him and his family. He came back to Cleveland (in 2014) … and won a championship (in 2016). A lot of people might not understand it, but his move to L.A. was more for the benefit of his son than maybe for himself. I really think that impacted his decision to be able to give his son the best outlet in terms of playing at a high level in high school. I think that was a huge part of it.”

Handy said he also enjoyed coaching the other Cavaliers. He spoke fondly of J.R. Smith, who mistakenly thought the Cavs had the lead when he grabbed an offensive rebound and dribbled out the final seconds of regulation in this year’s Game 1 of the Finals. The Cavs eventually lost in overtime.

“People see him as the villain (but) J.R. is a great dude, a great teammate,” Handy said. “He was one of those guys who was very coachable, as well. He comes in, works on his game. I know a lot of people gave him a lot of flak for Game 1 in the Finals. But that wasn’t what cost us the game. … Before that point, the game took some twists and turns with the officials and other things, but we still had opportunities to win that game.”

Handy said his most gratifying NBA moment came when the Cavaliers beat Golden State in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals. Handy grew up in Oakland, and his first NBA opportunity came as a free agent with the Warriors.

“There was no love lost,” Handy said. “I was happy we beat them, especially winning in my hometown. That was an amazing feeling.”

After the game, Handy recalled, “I was jumping up and down, popping champagne bottles. As a team, we went to Vegas right after. The whole summer was a big celebration.”