The Los Angeles Lakers are bringing in a college basketball coaching legend to help them have more success in the NBA draft.
Per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, the Lakers are hiring former Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett to be a “draft advisor” to general manager Rob Pelinka.
The Athletic’s Dan Woike reported Bennett “will not be leading the Lakers’ draft room or scouting.”
Bennett’s experience in finding players who possess toughness, energy and IQ will aid in the Lakers’ search as they restock an empty-ish cupboard of young talent,” Woike wrote.
Bennett, who had a brief playing career for the Charlotte Hornets, was the head coach of Virginia from 2009 to 2024. Before that, he was the head coach of Washington State.
During his time with the Cavaliers, he won four ACC Coach of the Year honors and a National Coach of the Year award. He was also named National Coach of the Year in 2007 when he was at Washington State.
He led Virginia to six ACC regular-season titles, two ACC tournament championships and a national championship in 2019. The Cavaliers reached the tournament in all but four seasons under Bennett.
Bennett’s retirement in 2024 came as a bit of a shock. He had just agreed to an extension that tied him to the school through the 2029-30 season and the season was set to begin in just a few days.
In a press conference announcing his retirement, Bennett addressed the current landscape of college sports and called for a change.
“I realized I’m no longer the best coach to lead this program in the current environment,” he told reporters. “If you’re going to do it, you’ve got to be all-in. You have to give everything. If you do it half-hearted, it’s not fair to the university and those young men.
“I think it’s right for student-athletes to receive revenue. Please don’t mistake me. I do. But the game and college athletics are not in a healthy spot. There needs to be change. … It’s going to be closer to a professional model.”
Considering he’s only 56 years old, Bennett’s retirement from coaching seemed unlikely to be the end of his career in general. Now, he’s back in the basketball world, and he’ll look to help aid the Lakers’ front office in finding the right fit in the draft.
