List of Los Angeles Lakers head coaches
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, formerly known as the Minneapolis Lakers from 1948 to 1960.[1] They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Lakers have played their home games at the Staples Center since 1999.[2] The franchise took its official name from Minnesota's nickname, the Land of 10,000 Lakes. At the time the name was revealed, the Lakers were in Minneapolis.[3] In their franchise history, the team has only missed the NBA playoffs 11 times.[4] According to Forbes magazine, the Lakers are the second most valuable basketball franchise in the NBA, valued at approximately US$4.4 billion, surpassed only by the New York Knicks.[5] The Lakers are majority-owned by Jerry Buss's family trust, while Rob Pelinka is the general manager.[6]
There have been 26 head coaches for the Lakers since joining the NBA. The franchise's first head coach while in the NBA was John Kundla, who coached for 11 seasons with the Lakers.[1] The Lakers won four additional NBA championships in the next five years under Kundla.[1] Phil Jackson is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached (902), most playoff games coached (181), most regular-season game wins (610), and most playoff wins (118). The Lakers have won 17 championships; five with Kundla, five with Phil Jackson, four with Riley, one with Bill Sharman, one with Frank Vogel, and one with Paul Westhead.[7] With the Lakers, Sharman, Riley, and Del Harris have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award, in 1972, 1990, and 1995 respectively.[8] Kundla, Bill Sharman, Riley and Jackson have been inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach.[9][10][11][12] George Mikan, Jim Pollard, Jerry West, Pat Riley, Magic Johnson, Kurt Rambis, Byron Scott, and Luke Walton have all played and head coached for the Lakers. The current head coach of the Lakers is Frank Vogel.
Key
GC | Games coached |
W | Wins |
L | Losses |
Win% | Winning percentage |
# | Number of coaches[a] |
* | Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Lakers |
† | Elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach |
*† | Elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach and spent entire coaching career with the Lakers |
Coaches
Note: Statistics are correct as of October 11, 2020.
# | Name | Term[b] | GC | W | L | Win% | GC | W | L | Win% | Achievements | Reference | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||
Minneapolis Lakers | |||||||||||||||
1 | John Kundla*† | 1948–1958 | 653 | 390 | 263 | .597 | 82 | 54 | 28 | .659 | 5 Championships (1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954)[7] One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[13] |
[9] | |||
2 | George Mikan* | 1958 | 39 | 9 | 30 | .231 | — | — | — | — | [14] | ||||
— | John Kundla*† | 1958–1959 | 72 | 33 | 39 | .458 | 13 | 6 | 7 | .462 | One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[13] | [9] | |||
3 | John Castellani* | 1959–1960 | 36 | 11 | 25 | .306 | — | — | — | — | [15] | ||||
4 | Jim Pollard | 1960 | 39 | 14 | 25 | .359 | 9 | 5 | 4 | .556 | [16] | ||||
Los Angeles Lakers | |||||||||||||||
5 | Fred Schaus* | 1960–1967 | 560 | 315 | 245 | .563 | 71 | 33 | 38 | .465 | [17] | ||||
6 | Butch van Breda Kolff | 1967–1969 | 164 | 107 | 57 | .652 | 33 | 21 | 12 | .636 | [18] | ||||
7 | Joe Mullaney | 1969–1971 | 164 | 94 | 70 | .573 | 30 | 16 | 14 | .533 | [19] | ||||
8 | Bill Sharman† | 1971–1976 | 410 | 246 | 164 | .600 | 37 | 22 | 15 | .595 | 1971–72 NBA Coach of the Year[8] 1 Championship (1972)[7] |
[10] | |||
9 | Jerry West* | 1976–1979 | 246 | 145 | 101 | .589 | 22 | 8 | 14 | .364 | [20] | ||||
10 | Jack McKinney | 1979 | 14 | 10 | 4 | .714 | — | — | — | — | [21] | ||||
11 | Paul Westhead | 1979–1981 | 161 | 111 | 50 | .689 | 19 | 13 | 6 | .684 | 1 Championship (1980)[7] | [22] | |||
12 | Pat Riley† | 1981–1990 | 727 | 533 | 194 | .733 | 149 | 102 | 47 | .685 | 1989–90 NBA Coach of the Year[8] 4 Championships (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988)[7] One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[13] |
[11] | |||
13 | Mike Dunleavy | 1990–1992 | 164 | 101 | 63 | .616 | 23 | 13 | 10 | .565 | [23] | ||||
14 | Randy Pfund* | 1992–1994 | 146 | 66 | 80 | .452 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | [24] | ||||
15 | Bill Bertka* | 1994 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | — | — | — | — | [25] | ||||
16 | Magic Johnson* | 1994 | 16 | 5 | 11 | .313 | — | — | — | — | [26] | ||||
17 | Del Harris | 1994–1999 | 340 | 224 | 116 | .659 | 36 | 17 | 19 | .472 | 1994–95 NBA Coach of the Year[8] | [27] | |||
— | Bill Bertka* | 1999 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | [25] | ||||
18 | Kurt Rambis | 1999 | 37 | 24 | 13 | .649 | 8 | 3 | 5 | .375 | [28] | ||||
19 | Phil Jackson | 1999–2004 | 410 | 287 | 123 | .700 | 92 | 64 | 28 | .696 | 3 Championships (2000, 2001, 2002)[7] One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[13] |
[12] | |||
20 | Rudy Tomjanovich | 2004–2005 | 43 | 24 | 19 | .558 | — | — | — | — | [29] | ||||
21 | Frank Hamblen | 2005 | 39 | 10 | 29 | .256 | — | — | — | — | [30] | ||||
— | Phil Jackson | 2005–2011 | 492 | 323 | 169 | .657 | 89 | 54 | 35 | .607 | 2 Championships (2009, 2010)[7] One of the top 10 coaches in NBA history[13] |
[12] | |||
22 | Mike Brown | 2011–2012 | 71 | 42 | 29 | .591 | 12 | 5 | 7 | .417 | [31] | ||||
23 | Bernie Bickerstaff | 2012 | 5 | 4 | 1 | .800 | — | — | — | — | [32] | ||||
24 | Mike D'Antoni | 2012–2014 | 154 | 67 | 87 | .435 | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 | [33] | ||||
25 | Byron Scott | 2014–2016 | 164 | 38 | 126 | .227 | — | — | — | — | [34] | ||||
26 | Luke Walton | 2016–2019 | 246 | 98 | 148 | .398 | — | — | — | — | [35] | ||||
27 | Frank Vogel | 2019–present | 143 | 94 | 49 | .657 | 27 | 18 | 9 | .762 | 1 Championship (2020)[7] | [36] |
-
Former head coach Bill Sharman led the team to the NBA Championship in 1972.
-
Jerry West was head coach of the Lakers for three seasons.
-
Pat Riley coached the team to four championships in the 1980s.
-
Phil Jackson won five championships in two stints coached with the Lakers.
-
Former head coach Luke Walton during his playing career with the Lakers.
-
Frank Vogel, the current head coach of the Lakers.
Notes
- a A running total of the number of coaches of the Lakers. Thus, any coach who has two or more separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
- b Each year is linked to an article about that particular NBA season.
References
- General
- "Los Angeles Lakers Coach Register". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 21, 2008.
- "Lakers: Los Angeles Lakers History". NBA.com. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
- Specific
- ^ a b c "Los Angeles Lakers History". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved June 21, 2008.
- ^ "About STAPLES Center". L.A. Arena Company. Archived from the original on June 26, 2012. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
- ^ Reavis, Tracey (2000). The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-50130-9.
- ^ "Odom scores 31, Lakers beat Mavericks 112-108 to clinch a playoff berth". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved July 3, 2008.
- ^ "The Business of Basketball". Forbes. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ Markazi, Arash (February 18, 2013). "Buss family won't sell Lakers". ESPNLosAngeles.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "NBA Finals: All-Time Champions". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 21, 2008.
- ^ a b c d "Coach of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
- ^ a b c "John Kundla Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 21, 2008.
- ^ a b "Bill Sharman Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ a b "Pat Riley Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ a b c "Phil Jackson Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e "Top 10 Coaches in NBA History". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on January 17, 2010. Retrieved July 30, 2008.
- ^ "George Mikan Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 21, 2008.
- ^ "John Castellani Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ "Jim Pollard Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ "Fred Schaus Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ "Butch Van Breda Kolff Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ "Joe Mullaney Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ "Jerry West Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ "Jack MckInney Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ "Paul Westhead Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ "Mike Dunleavy Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ "Randy Pfund Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ a b "Bill Bertka Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ "Magic Johnson Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ "Del Harris Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ "Kurt Rambis Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ "Rudy Tomjanovich Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ "Frank Hamblem Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ "Mike Brown Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- ^ "Bernie Bickerstaff Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
- ^ "Mike D'Antoni Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
- ^ "Byron Scott Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
- ^ "Luke Walton Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ^ "Frank Vogel Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 11, 2019.