Byron Scott · Biography

In the 1983 NBA draft the San Diego Clippers took Byron Scott with the fourth overall pick. Before he played a game for them, they traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers for guard Norm Nixon, and that deal set the course of a career spent largely in Los Angeles. Scott, born on March 28, 1961, in Ogden, Utah, was an American shooting guard who won three NBA championships with the Lakers. He later worked as head coach of the New Jersey Nets, the New Orleans Hornets, the Cleveland Cavaliers and, from 2014 to 2016, the Lakers themselves.

Inglewood and Arizona State

Although he was born in Utah, Scott grew up in Inglewood, California, a few miles from the Forum where the Lakers played. He attended Morningside High School and in 1979 was named a McDonald's All-American and a fourth-team Parade All-American. At Arizona State University he played three seasons between 1979 and 1983 and averaged 17.5 points per game. He was Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 1980 and made the first-team All-Pac-10 in 1983, then entered the draft as a junior. Arizona State retired his No. 11 in 2011, and decades later Scott went back to finish a bachelor's degree in liberal arts.

Ten seasons with the Lakers

Scott joined a Lakers team built around Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and soon earned a place in the rotation. At the end of the 1983-84 season he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. As the starting shooting guard of a side that thrived on the fast break, he won NBA championships in 1985, 1987 and 1988. He spent ten seasons with the franchise, and the Lakers released him after the 1992-93 campaign.

Indiana, Vancouver and a return to Los Angeles

Scott signed with the Indiana Pacers and played two seasons there, from 1993 to 1995. In Game 1 of the 1994 first-round series against the Orlando Magic he hit the game-winning shot. In 1995 Indiana left him unprotected in the expansion draft, and the newly formed Vancouver Grizzlies picked him up for the 1995-96 season. He went back to the Lakers for 1996-97, his last NBA season, and played his final game in Game 4 of the 1997 Western Conference semifinals. His NBA totals were 1,073 regular-season games and 15,097 points, an average of 14.1, with 2,987 rebounds and 2,729 assists, plus 183 playoff appearances.

Panathinaikos and the move to the bench

In 1997 Scott signed a two-year contract with Panathinaikos in Athens. That year he was a Greek League All-Star and played in the FIBA EuroStars game, and in 1998 he won the Greek Basket League title with the club. He retired as a player after that season. He started coaching in 1998 as an assistant to Rick Adelman with the Sacramento Kings, and stayed in the role until 2000.

New Jersey and New Orleans

The New Jersey Nets hired him as head coach on June 27, 2000. After a 26-56 first season, the team went 52-30 in 2001-02 and reached the 2002 NBA Finals, where the Lakers swept them 4-0. He also coached in the 2002 All-Star Game. In 2002-03 the Nets went 49-33 and returned to the Finals, losing in six games to the San Antonio Spurs. He was dismissed midway through 2003-04 with a 22-20 record, and Lawrence Frank replaced him. In 2004 he took over the New Orleans Hornets. An 18-64 first season was followed by two years in which the team played in Oklahoma City after Hurricane Katrina (38-44 and 39-43). In 2007-08 the Hornets went 56-26, won the Southwest Division and took the Spurs to seven games in the Western Conference semifinals, losing Game 7 91-82 on May 19, 2008. That season he was named NBA Coach of the Year. A 49-33 season ended with a first-round exit against Denver in 2009, and he was fired on November 12, 2009, with the team at 3-6.

Cleveland and a final spell in Los Angeles

The Cleveland Cavaliers named him head coach on July 1, 2010. In 2010-11 the team finished 19-63 and lost 26 straight games, the longest losing streak the NBA had seen up to then. In 2011 Cleveland drafted Kyrie Irving first overall, and Irving was Rookie of the Year in 2012. A 21-45 record in the 66-game season and a 24-58 campaign followed, and Scott was fired on April 18, 2013. He worked as a television analyst during 2013-14, and on July 28, 2014, the Lakers hired him. His teams went 21-61 in 2014-15 and 17-65 in 2015-16, the last season of Kobe Bryant's career and the worst record in franchise annals. On April 24, 2016, the Lakers declined his contract option. His Los Angeles tenure ended at 38-126, and his head coaching record stood at 454-647 in the regular season and 33-24 in the playoffs.