After suffering the worst record in franchise history since moving to Los Angeles in the 2013-14 season, head coach Mike D’Antoni resigned from the Los Angeles Lakers during the off-season and the team eventually hired former player, Byron Scott.
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With the Lakers off to a 4-13 start this season, D’Antoni was on SiriusXM NBA Radio with Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher to discuss his time coaching Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. When asked about his time in Los Angeles, D’Antoni said they weren’t on the same page:
Biggest thing is – you want to have a certain style and be on the same page and we weren’t all on the same page. Have to be on the same page from top of management down to the waterboy, especially in a tough place like L.A.
When discussing Kobe, D’Antoni said he never had any doubt the five-time champion would come back from his injuries and talked about the positives and negatives of coaching him:
Best – his ability to do the volume of work that he does, if it’s humanly possible to do he will do it, mindset and determination and work ethic. Will always try to be the best to ever play the game. That’s also the tough part of coaching him, he has a determination and near-sightedness. Sees one goal and will go over you, under you, whatever, to get to where he wants to go.
During his time in Los Angeles, D’Antoni received heavy criticism and most could not get past the fact that he was chosen over Phil Jackson to replace Mike Brown during the 2012-13 season. As a result, many players spoke up for D’Antoni at the end of last season saying he did not get a fair shake because of all the injuries.
At this time last season, D’Antoni coached the Lakers to a 9-8 record through 17 games without his superstar, who was still rehabbing from a ruptured Achilles.
[divide]NBA Record: Kobe Bryant First With 6,000 Assists And 30,000 Points