The Los Angeles Lakers made an intriguing hiring last Wednesday that likely flew under the radar.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Lakers signed a legendary former college coach to assist Luka Doncic.
“The Los Angeles Lakers have hired former University of Virginia coach Tony Bennett as an NBA Draft advisor under president Rob Pelinka,” Charania wrote on X/Twitter.
Bennett’s track record at the collegiate level speaks for itself. After spending time with Wisconsin (as an assistant coach), Washington State (as an assistant, associate, and head coach), Bennett received the head coaching position at Virginia in 2009 and didn’t disappoint.
The 56-year-old earned four ACC Coach of the Year nods, one AP National Coach of the Year nod, two ACC tournament titles, six ACC regular season titles, and an NCAA championship during his successful 15-year stint with the Cavaliers (Virginia won a title a year after becoming the first No. 1 seed in NCAA tournament history to lose to a No. 16 seed).
While many were gutted when Bennett shockingly retired less than a month before the start of the 2024-25 college basketball season, there’s no question that the Clintonville, Wisconsin native is one of the best Division 1 head coaches of all time.
Although Bennett will enter unfamiliar territory with the Lakers in the big leagues, his winning background should help him succeed with the highly-regarded Western Conference franchise.
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