Luke Walton

Luke Theodore Walton (born March 28, 1980) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 10 seasons in the NBA as a forward, winning two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. He also won a title as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors before serving as the head coach of the Lakers from 2016 through 2019.

For other uses, see Luke Walton (disambiguation).

Luke Walton
Walton with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008
Sacramento Kings
PositionHead coach
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1980-03-28) March 28, 1980
San Diego, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
High schoolUniversity of San Diego HS
(San Diego, California)
CollegeArizona (1999–2003)
NBA draft2003 / Round: 2 / Pick: 32nd overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Playing career2003–2013
PositionSmall forward / Power forward
Number4, 32
Coaching career2011–present
Career history
As player:
2003–2012Los Angeles Lakers
2012–2013Cleveland Cavaliers
As coach:
2011Memphis Tigers (assistant)
2013–2014Los Angeles D-Fenders (player development)
2014–2016Golden State Warriors (assistant)
2016–2019Los Angeles Lakers
2019–presentSacramento Kings
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As assistant coach:

Career NBA statistics
Points2,649 (4.7 ppg)
Rebounds1,588 (2.8 rpg)
Assists1,317 (2.3 apg)
Stats  at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Walton played college basketball with the Arizona Wildcats. He was a second-team All-American and a two-time first-team all-conference selection in the Pac-10. He was selected in the second round of the 2003 NBA draft by the Lakers. After the 2010 NBA Finals, Walton and his father, Hall of Famer Bill Walton, became the first father and son to have both won multiple NBA championships: Bill won in 1977 and 1986, and Luke in 2009 and 2010.[1] His best season statistically was 2006–07 with over 11 points, 5 rebounds, and over 4 assists per game.

As the Warriors' interim head coach in 2015–16, he guided the team to the longest winning streak to open a season in league history at 16 games.

Early life

The son of Susie and former UCLA star and NBA Hall-of-Famer Bill Walton, Luke Walton was born in San Diego, California. He was named after his father's close friend and former Portland Trail Blazers teammate Maurice Lucas.[2] He has three brothers: Adam, Nathan, and Chris. Walton attended University of San Diego High School in San Diego, California,[3] graduating in 1998.

College career

Walton played basketball at the University of Arizona under coach Lute Olson. His best year statistically was as a junior, when he averaged 15.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. During his senior year he averaged 10.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 0.9 steals per game.

Walton graduated from Arizona in the spring of 2003 after completing work in family studies and human development.

Professional career

Los Angeles Lakers (2003–2012)

Walton was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2003 NBA draft with the second pick of the second round (32nd overall). Walton was a favorite of Lakers fans during his nine-year stint as a selfless, hard-working reserve player.[4] He was chosen to represent Team Los Angeles in the Shooting Stars Competition during All-Star Weekend in 2005.[5]

In 2006–07, Walton had his best year in the NBA. He scored a career-high 25 points against the Atlanta Hawks on December 8, 2006. For the season he posted career-high per-game averages in minutes, field goal percentage, steals, blocks, rebounds, assists and points as the Lakers starting small forward. Following the season, on July 12, 2007, Walton was signed by the Lakers to a 6-year, $30 million contract.[6] The Lakers then made three straight runs to the NBA Finals; they lost to the Celtics in 2008, but defeated the Magic in 2009 and Celtics in 2010 to win back-to-back championships. This gave Walton two championships as a player, the same amount his father won.

Cleveland Cavaliers (2012–2013)

On March 15, 2012, Walton was traded along with Jason Kapono and a 2012 first-round draft choice to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Ramon Sessions and Christian Eyenga.[7]

Coaching career

University of Memphis (2011)

Walton's first coaching experience was with the University of Memphis, which hired Walton as an assistant coach during the 2011 NBA lockout.[8] He remained an assistant at Memphis until the lockout was over.

Following his retirement Walton was hired as a player development coach by the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League, joining the team in November 2013 for the 2013–14 season.[9]

Golden State Warriors (2014–2016)

The following season in 2014–15, Walton became an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors. Said Walton, "We are gonna run parts of the triangle offense, and I know that thing front and back."[10] The Warriors won the 2015 NBA Finals after they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games to give Walton his third NBA championship and first as a coach.

During 2015–16 training camp in October 2015, Walton was appointed as the Warriors interim head coach when Steve Kerr took an indefinite leave of absence to rehabilitate his back that had been bothering him after the NBA Finals.[11][12] Walton made his coaching debut in the season opener on October 27 in a 111–95 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Three games later, he presided over the third-largest margin of victory in franchise history when the Warriors defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, 119–69, which was also the largest margin in the league since 1991.[13] The Warriors set a new NBA record by winning their first four games by a total margin of 100 points.[14] With a win over the Los Angeles Lakers on November 24, he guided the Warriors to a 16th consecutive victory to start the season, a new NBA record.[15]

Walton was named the NBA Western Conference Coach of the Month for games played in October and November, after guiding Golden State to a 19–0 start.[16] He received the award despite technically being winless, since the Warriors' record was credited to Kerr. Since Kerr was still the head coach, NBA rules stipulated that the team's record under an interim coach be credited to the head coach,[17] though the league considered altering the rule given Walton's case.[18] However, the NBA permits an interim or acting head coach to be eligible for coaching awards.[19] The Warriors extended their record start to 24–0. They were 39–4, the second-best start in league history, when Kerr resumed coaching full-time on January 22, 2016.[20] Golden State ended the season an NBA-record 73–9, and Kerr was voted the NBA Coach of the Year. The coach had Walton, who coached more games during the season than Kerr (43–39), sit next to him on the podium at the award press conference. Walton finished ninth in the voting, receiving one second-place and two third-place votes.[21]

Los Angeles Lakers (2016–2019)

On April 29, 2016, the Lakers hired Walton to become their new head coach once the Warriors' season ended in the 2016 NBA Finals. He replaced Byron Scott.[22]

In his first season with the Lakers, the team improved upon their franchise worst 17–65 record from the previous year, finishing 26–56. During the season, Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss were replaced by Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka. Johnson and Pelinka both spoke highly of Walton and said he would remain the head coach of the team. The Lakers won five of their last six games of the season, bringing some momentum into the off-season.

Walton's second season with the Lakers saw another slight improvement, as the team finished 35–47, its best record since the 2012–13 season.

In 2018–19, the Lakers had high expectations after signing LeBron James to a four-year, $153.3 million contract.[23][24] Along with James and a core of young prospects, the front office completed the roster with veterans on one-year deals, a group that was rich in ball handlers but lacking in shooters.[24] Johnson initially preached patience during the preseason.[24] After the team started the season 2–5, Johnson reprimanded Walton and demanded immediate results.[23] The Lakers were 20–14 after a Christmas win over Golden State, but James and Rajon Rondo were injured during the game, which began a downturn from which the team never recovered, ending the season 37–45. Combined with season-ending injuries to Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, the combination of James, Ball and Ingram played together for just 23 games, when they were 15–8. As a team, Lakers players missed over 210 games due to injuries, and Walton used more than 25 different starting lineups during the season.[24] Prior to the season finale, Johnson resigned, citing among his reasons that he wished to avoid conflict with owner Jeanie Buss, who supported Walton, while Johnson planned to fire him.[23] Days later on April 12, 2019, Walton and the Lakers agreed to mutually part ways.[24][25] The Lakers went 98–148 under Walton and missed the playoffs in all three seasons.[24]

Sacramento Kings (2019–present)

On April 14, 2019, Walton was hired by the Sacramento Kings as their head coach.[26][27] He and Kings general manager Vlade Divac had been teammates with the Lakers in 2004–05, which was Divac's final NBA season after spending six with Sacramento.[28] The Kings began the 2019–20 season 0–5 after losing forward Marvin Bagley III for weeks when he suffered a broken thumb in the closing minutes of a 29-point, season-opening loss to the Phoenix Suns. Sacramento rebounded from their slow start to win six of their next eight.[29]

Broadcasting career

Walton was hired by Spectrum SportsNet (known then as Time Warner Cable SportsNet) in 2013 to join their Lakers on-air broadcast team.[30]

Personal life

Much like his father Bill, Walton is a fan of the Grateful Dead. On his right arm, there is a tattoo of four Grateful Dead-type dancing skeletons, each one with a basketball; the skeletons represent Luke and his three brothers.

In 2006, Walton made a cameo appearance on the television soap opera The Young and the Restless.[31]

In December 2008, a woman named Stacy Elizabeth Beshear pleaded no contest to charges of stalking Walton. At one point, she pulled up to Walton's car and "pretended to fire gunshots at him with her hand." She was sentenced to three years' probation, told to attend weekly counseling sessions for a year and ordered to stay away for three years from Walton's home and from the Lakers' games and practices.[32]

In 2009, Walton and his father became the third father-son duo to both win NBA championships as players, following the Guokases (Matt Sr. and Matt Jr.) and the Barrys (Rick and Brent).

Walton married long-time girlfriend Bre Ladd in 2013. The two met in 2002 at the University of Arizona, where she played volleyball on their varsity team, and started dating in 2005.[33][34] They have two children.[34]

On April 22, 2019, former Spectrum SportsNet host Kelli Tennant filed a civil lawsuit against Walton, accusing him of sexual assault.[35][36] They had appeared on the network together during Walton's brief broadcasting stint.[37] She published a book in 2014,[37] which credits him as being the author of the foreword,[38] which he later denied writing.[39] She alleged that the assault occurred afterwards, when she dropped off a copy of the book to Walton in a hotel in Santa Monica, California, while he was an assistant with Golden State.[37] According to Tennant, he invited her to his room, where he pinned her on the bed. He kissed her face, neck and chest and groped her breasts and groin area. She said he later rubbed his erection against her leg.[36] Walton denied the charges;[40] he acknowledged their meeting at the hotel, but wrote in court filings that "their encounter was very short, entirely pleasant and consensual."[38] His lawyer called her "an opportunist, not a victim."[36] The Kings and the NBA launched a joint investigation into her claims against Walton.[36] In August, the investigators concluded that there was "not a sufficient basis to support" the accusations.[41] Tennant declined to participate in the investigation.[42][43] On December 5, the lawsuit was dropped at her request, with records showing it was dismissed "with prejudice", meaning she cannot re-file.[38]

NBA career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2003–04 L.A. Lakers 72210.1.425.333.7051.81.6.4.12.4
2004–05 L.A. Lakers 61512.6.411.262.7082.31.5.4.23.2
2005–06 L.A. Lakers 69619.3.412.327.7503.62.3.6.25.0
2006–07 L.A. Lakers 606033.0.474.387.7455.04.31.0.411.4
2007–08 L.A. Lakers 743123.4.450.333.7063.92.9.8.27.2
2008–09† L.A. Lakers 653417.9.436.298.7192.82.7.5.25.0
2009–10† L.A. Lakers 2909.4.357.412.5001.31.4.3.02.4
2010–11 L.A. Lakers 5409.0.328.235.7001.21.1.2.11.7
2011–12 L.A. Lakers 907.2.429.000.0001.6.6.2.01.3
2011–12 Cleveland 21014.2.353.438.0001.71.4.1.02.0
2012–13 Cleveland 50017.1.392.299.5002.93.3.8.33.4
Career 56413817.2.429.326.7152.82.3.6.24.7

Playoffs
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004 L.A. Lakers 1707.9.345.385.7001.31.5.4.11.9
2006 L.A. Lakers 7733.6.458.3641.0006.41.71.0.112.1
2007 L.A. Lakers 5525.6.389.417.7504.22.61.4.27.2
2008 L.A. Lakers 21016.8.454.423.7222.62.0.5.26.0
2009† L.A. Lakers 21015.8.427.313.6112.52.1.7.13.8
2010† L.A. Lakers 1606.0.304.222.500.5.9.1.11.1
2011 L.A. Lakers 104.0.000.000.0001.0.0.0.0.0
Career 881214.6.420.360.7012.31.7.5.14.3

Head coaching record
Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
L.A. Lakers 2016–17 822656.3174th in Pacific————Missed playoffs
L.A. Lakers 2017–18 823547.4273rd in Pacific————Missed playoffs
L.A. Lakers 2018–19 823745.4514th in Pacific————Missed playoffs
Sacramento 2019–20 723141.4314th in Pacific————Missed playoffs
Career 318129189.406 ————

References
  1. Tomasson, Chris (June 15, 2010). "Bill Walton "I'm Back In The Game Of Life"". NBA.FanHouse.com. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
  2. Wolfson, Maxx (March 7, 2013). "From playing partners to parenthood". Arizona Daily Wildcat. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  3. Stevenson, Samantha (December 26, 1996). "A Light Shines on Walton Mountain". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 21, 2018.
  4. Plaschke, Bill (April 29, 2016). "Lakers go back to a sweet spot with hiring of Luke Walton". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Lakers, Walton agree to six-year, $30 million deal". ESPN.com. July 1, 2007. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  7. "Cavaliers Acquire 2012 First Round Pick, Kapono, Walton and Right To Swap 2013 First Round Picks From Lakers". NBA.com. March 15, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
  8. "Pastner Recommends Luke Walton For Tigers Hoops Assistant Coach Position". Gotigersgo.com. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  9. "Luke Walton hired as player development coach in D-League :InsideHoops". Insidehoops.com. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  10. "Warriors Announce Steve Kerr's Coaching Staff". Golden State Warriors. July 3, 2014.
  11. Pincus, Eric (October 1, 2015). "Former Laker Luke Walton named Warriors' interim head coach". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  12. "Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr to Take a Leave of Absence to Focus on Back Rehab". NBA.com. October 1, 2015. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  13. "Stephen Curry, Warriors beat Grizzlies by 50 — yes, 50". Sfgate.com. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  14. Kroichick, Ron (November 5, 2015). "Warriors survive 1st tough test, beat Clippers 112-108". SFGate.
  15. Simmons, Rusty (November 24, 2015). "Warriors dominate in historic 16th straight win". SFGate.
  16. "Cavs' Blatt, Warriors' Walton named Coaches of Month" (Press release). NBA. December 1, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  17. Kroichick, Ron (November 4, 2015). "Walton's early success boosts Kerr's career record". SFGate.
  18. "NBA reportedly considers crediting Luke Walton with Warriors' wins". Sporting News. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  19. "Luke Walton named NBA Coach of the Month despite being 'winless'". ESPN. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  20. Spears, Marc J. (January 22, 2016). "Steve Kerr set to return to coach Warriors". Yahoo Sports. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016.
  21. Steward, Carl (April 26, 2016). "Warriors' Steve Kerr is NBA's Coach of the Year". The Mercury News. Archived from the original on April 28, 2016.
  22. "Lakers Announce Agreement With Luke Walton to Become New Head Coach". NBA.com. April 29, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  23. McMenamin, Dave; Youngmisuk, Ohm (April 12, 2019). "Luke Walton couldn't outcoach the Lakers' dysfunction". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  24. Youngmisuk, Ohm (April 12, 2019). "Sources: Lakers coach search eyes Lue, Williams". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  25. "Los Angeles Lakers and Luke Walton Mutually Agree to Part Ways". NBA.com. April 12, 2019. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
  26. "Kings Announce Luke Walton as Head Coach". NBA.com. April 14, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  27. "Kings officially name Walton as new head coach". ESPN.com. April 15, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  28. Anderson, Jason (April 18, 2019). "Tales of Vlade Divac's Kings and Luke Walton's Lakers spotlight importance of trust". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  29. Anderson, Jason (November 20, 2019). "Kings coach Luke Walton faces decisions with Marvin Bagley III almost ready to return". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  30. Pincus, Eric (October 3, 2013). "Byron Scott and Luke Walton join TWC SportsNet broadcast team". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014.
  31. "SignOnSanDiego.com > Sports – Walton to make acting debut on 'Young and Restless'". Signonsandiego.com. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  32. Winton, Richard. (December 19, 2008) Luke Walton's stalker pleads no contest, sentenced to probation The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-11-13.
  33. Bell, Diane (August 16, 2013). "NBA's Luke Walton to marry Saturday in Aspen, Colo". UT San Diego. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  34. Darden, Hannah (April 22, 2019). "Kings coach Luke Walton is married. He's also been the victim of stalking". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  35. "Kings, NBA begin sex-assault inquiry into coach Walton". NBA.com. April 25, 2019. Retrieved April 28, 2019.
  36. McCann, Michael (April 29, 2019). "Analyzing Kelli Tennant's Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against Kings Coach Luke Walton". SI.com. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  37. Tanguli, Tania (April 22, 2019). "Luke Walton accused of sexual assault by former SportsNet host Kelli Tennant". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  38. McGough, Michael; Anderson, Jason; Bizjak, Tony (December 5, 2019). "Sexual assault lawsuit against Sacramento Kings coach Luke Walton dropped". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  39. "Court Brief: Sacramento Kings Coach Luke Walton Says Sex Assault Claim Lacks Facts". Sacramento.CBSLocal.com. July 8, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2020. In the filing, Walton said he did not write a forward for Tennant’s book and does not consider himself a mentor to her.
  40. Sabalow, Ryan; Kasler, Dale; Bizjak, Tony (August 23, 2019). "In the #MeToo era, Luke Walton's accuser refused to talk to the Kings. Here's why". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  41. "NBA, Kings close Walton sexual assault case". ESPN.com. August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  42. Draper, Kevin (August 23, 2019). "N.B.A. Closes Luke Walton Sexual Assault Investigation". The New York Times. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  43. Moskovitz, Diane (August 23, 2019). "The NBA Tries To Make Its Luke Walton Problem Go Away". Deadspin. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
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