.jpg) Walton with theLos Angeles Lakers in 2008 | |
| Detroit Pistons | |
|---|---|
| Position | Lead assistant coach |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1980-03-28)March 28, 1980 (age 44) San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) |
| Listed weight | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | University of San Diego HS (San Diego, California) |
| College | Arizona (1999–2003) |
| NBA draft | 2003: 2nd round, 32nd overall pick |
| Selected by theLos Angeles Lakers | |
| Playing career | 2003–2013 |
| Position | Small forward /power forward |
| Number | 4, 32 |
| Coaching career | 2011–present |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 2003–2012 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2012–2013 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| As coach: | |
| 2011 | Memphis Tigers (assistant) |
| 2013–2014 | Los Angeles D-Fenders (player development) |
| 2014–2016 | Golden State Warriors (assistant) |
| 2016–2019 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 2019–2021 | Sacramento Kings |
| 2022–2024 | Cleveland Cavaliers (assistant) |
| 2024–present | Detroit Pistons (lead assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
As player:
As assistant coach: | |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 2,649 (4.7 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,588 (2.8 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,317 (2.3 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Luke Theodore Walton (born March 28, 1980) is an American professionalbasketball coach and former player who is the lead assistant coach for theDetroit Pistons of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He played 10 seasons in the NBA as aforward, winning twoNBA championships with theLos Angeles Lakers. He also won a title as an assistant coach with theGolden State Warriors before serving as the head coach of the Lakers from 2016 through 2019. Additionally, Walton served as the head coach of theSacramento Kings from 2019 to 2021.
Walton playedcollege basketball with theArizona Wildcats. He was a second-teamAll-American and a two-time first-teamall-conference selection in thePac-10. He was selected in the second round of the2003 NBA draft by the Lakers. After the2010 NBA Finals, Walton and his father,Hall of FamerBill Walton, became the first father and son to have both won multiple NBA championships: Bill won in1977 and1986, and Luke in2009 and2010.[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 24 games.
The son of Susie and formerUCLA star and NBA Hall-of-FamerBill Walton, Luke Walton was born in San Diego, California.[2][3] He was named after his father's close friend and formerPortland Trail Blazers teammateMaurice Lucas.[4] He has three brothers: Adam, Nathan, and Chris. Walton attendedUniversity of San Diego High School inSan Diego, California,[5] graduating in 1998.
Walton played basketball at theUniversity of Arizona under coachLute Olson. A two-time first-teamAll-Pac-10 selection,[6] 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.
Walton was selected by theLos Angeles Lakers in the2003 NBA draft with the second pick of the second round (32nd overall). Walton was a favorite of Lakers fans during his nine-year stint and earned a reputation as a selfless, hard-workingreserve player.[7] He was chosen to represent Team Los Angeles in theShooting Stars Competition duringAll-Star Weekend in 2005.[8]
In2006–07, Walton had his best year in the NBA. He scored a career-high 25 points against theAtlanta 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 startingsmall forward. Following the season, on July 12, 2007, Walton was signed by the Lakers to a 6-year, $30 million contract.[9] The Lakers then made three straight runs to the NBA Finals; they lost to the Celtics in2008, but defeated the Magic in2009 and Celtics in2010 to win back-to-back championships. This gave Walton two championships as a player, the same amount his father won.
On March 15, 2012, Walton was traded along withJason Kapono and a 2012 first-round draft choice to theCleveland Cavaliers forRamon Sessions andChristian Eyenga.[10]
A year later would be Walton's final days as an NBA player, as his final game was on April 5, 2013, in a 97–91 victory over theBoston Celtics. In his final game Walton recorded 2 assists in 3 minutes of playing time.
Walton's first coaching experience was with theUniversity of Memphis, which hired Walton as an assistant coach during the2011 NBA lockout.[11] He remained an assistant at Memphis until the lockout was over.
Following his retirement Walton was hired as a player development coach by theLos Angeles D-Fenders of theNBA Development League, joining the team in November 2013 for the 2013–14 season.[12]
The following season in2014–15, Walton became an assistant coach for theGolden State Warriors. Said Walton, "We are gonna run parts of thetriangle offense, and I know that thing front and back."[13] The Warriors won the2015 NBA Finals after they defeated theCleveland Cavaliers in six games to give Walton his third NBA championship and first as a coach.
During2015–16 training camp in October 2015, Walton was appointed as the Warriors interim head coach whenSteve Kerr took an indefinite leave of absence to rehabilitate his back that had been bothering him after the NBA Finals.[14][15] Walton made his coaching debut in the season opener on October 27 in a 111–95 win over theNew Orleans Pelicans. Three games later, he presided over the third-largest margin of victory in franchise history when the Warriors defeated theMemphis Grizzlies, 119–69, which was also the largest margin in the league since 1991.[16] The Warriors set a new NBA record by winning their first four games by a total margin of 100 points.[17] With a win over theLos Angeles Lakers on November 24, he guided the Warriors to a 16th consecutive victory to start the season, a new NBA record.[18]
Walton was named the NBAWestern Conference Coach of the Month for games played in October and November, after guiding Golden State to a 19–0 start.[19] 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,[20] though the league considered altering the rule given Walton's case.[21] However, the NBA permits an interim or acting head coach to be eligible for coaching awards.[22] 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.[23] Golden State ended the season an NBA-record 73–9, and Kerr was voted theNBA 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.[24]
On April 29, 2016, the Lakers hired Walton to become their new head coach once the Warriors' season ended in the2016 NBA Finals. He replacedByron Scott.[25]
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 andJim Buss were replaced byMagic Johnson andRob Pelinka. Johnson and Pelinka both spoke highly of Walton and said he would remain the head coach of the team.[citation needed] The Lakers won five of their last six games of the season, bringing some momentum into the off-season.[citation needed]
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.[26]
In2018–19, the Lakers had high expectations after signingLeBron James to a four-year, $153.3 million contract.[27][28] 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.[28] Johnson initially preached patience during the preseason.[28] After the team started the season 2–5, Johnson reprimanded Walton and demanded immediate results.[27] The Lakers were 20–14 after a Christmas win over Golden State, but James andRajon 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 toLonzo Ball andBrandon 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.[28] Prior to the season finale, Johnson resigned, citing among his reasons that he wished to avoid conflict with ownerJeanie Buss, who supported Walton, while Johnson planned to fire him.[27] Days later on April 12, 2019, Walton and the Lakers agreed to mutually part ways.[28][29] The Lakers went 98–148 under Walton and missed the playoffs in all three seasons.[28]
On April 14, 2019, Walton was hired by theSacramento Kings as their head coach.[30] He and Kings general managerVlade Divac had been teammates with the Lakers in2004–05, which was Divac's final NBA season after spending six with Sacramento.[31] The Kings began the2019–20 season 0–5 after losing forwardMarvin Bagley III for weeks when he suffered a broken thumb in the closing minutes of a 29-point, season-opening loss to thePhoenix Suns. Sacramento rebounded from their slow start to win six of their next eight.[32] They ended the season 31–41, and Divac resigned after the season.[33] The Kings finished 31–41 again in2020–21,[34] extending the franchise's playoff drought to 15 seasons, which was the longest active streak in the league.[35] On November 21, 2021, the Kings fired Walton after a 6–11 start to the2021–22 season. He was 68–93 in his two-plus seasons with the team.[35][36]
On May 31, 2022, theCleveland Cavaliers hired Walton as an assistant coach to serve underJ. B. Bickerstaff.[37]
On July 12, 2024, theDetroit Pistons hired Walton as the lead assistant coach to stay withJ. B. Bickerstaff.
Walton was hired bySpectrum SportsNet (known then as Time Warner Cable SportsNet) in 2013 to join their Lakers on-air broadcast team.[38]
In December 2008, a woman named Stacy Elizabeth Beshear pleadedno 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.[39]
In 2009, Walton and his father became the thirdfather-son duo to both winNBA championships as players, following the Guokases (Matt Sr. andMatt Jr.) and the Barrys (Rick andBrent).[40] The Waltons later became the first father-son duo to each win multiple NBA titles.[41][42]
Walton married long-time girlfriend Bre Ladd in 2013. The two met in 2002 at the University of Arizona, where she playedvolleyball on theirvarsity team, and started dating in 2005.[43][44] They have two children.[44]
On April 22, 2019, former Spectrum SportsNet host Kelli Tennant filed a civil lawsuit against Walton, accusing him ofsexual assault.[45][46] They had appeared on the network together during Walton's brief broadcasting stint.[47] She published a book in 2014,[47] which credits him as being the author of the foreword,[48] which he later denied writing.[49] She alleged that the assault occurred afterwards, when she dropped off a copy of the book to Walton in a hotel inSanta Monica, California, while he was an assistant with Golden State.[47] 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.[46] Walton denied the charges;[50] he acknowledged their meeting at the hotel, but wrote in court filings that "their encounter was very short, entirely pleasant and consensual."[48] The Kings and the NBA launched a joint investigation into her claims against Walton.[46] In August, the investigators concluded that there was "not a sufficient basis to support" the accusations.[51] Tennant declined to participate in the investigation.[52][53] On December 5, the lawsuit was dropped at her request, with records showing it was dismissed "with prejudice", meaning she cannot re-file. It was not known whether a settlement was reached.[48]
| 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 anNBA championship |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | L.A. Lakers | 72 | 2 | 10.1 | .425 | .333 | .705 | 1.8 | 1.6 | .4 | .1 | 2.4 |
| 2004–05 | L.A. Lakers | 61 | 5 | 12.6 | .411 | .262 | .708 | 2.3 | 1.5 | .4 | .2 | 3.2 |
| 2005–06 | L.A. Lakers | 69 | 6 | 19.3 | .412 | .327 | .750 | 3.6 | 2.3 | .6 | .2 | 5.0 |
| 2006–07 | L.A. Lakers | 60 | 60 | 33.0 | .474 | .387 | .745 | 5.0 | 4.3 | 1.0 | .4 | 11.4 |
| 2007–08 | L.A. Lakers | 74 | 31 | 23.4 | .450 | .333 | .706 | 3.9 | 2.9 | .8 | .2 | 7.2 |
| 2008–09† | L.A. Lakers | 65 | 34 | 17.9 | .436 | .298 | .719 | 2.8 | 2.7 | .5 | .2 | 5.0 |
| 2009–10† | L.A. Lakers | 29 | 0 | 9.4 | .357 | .412 | .500 | 1.3 | 1.4 | .3 | .0 | 2.4 |
| 2010–11 | L.A. Lakers | 54 | 0 | 9.0 | .328 | .235 | .700 | 1.2 | 1.1 | .2 | .1 | 1.7 |
| 2011–12 | L.A. Lakers | 9 | 0 | 7.2 | .429 | .000 | .000 | 1.6 | .6 | .2 | .0 | 1.3 |
| 2011–12 | Cleveland | 21 | 0 | 14.2 | .353 | .438 | .000 | 1.7 | 1.4 | .1 | .0 | 2.0 |
| 2012–13 | Cleveland | 50 | 0 | 17.1 | .392 | .299 | .500 | 2.9 | 3.3 | .8 | .3 | 3.4 |
| Career | 564 | 138 | 17.2 | .429 | .326 | .715 | 2.8 | 2.3 | .6 | .2 | 4.7 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | L.A. Lakers | 17 | 0 | 7.9 | .345 | .385 | .700 | 1.3 | 1.5 | .4 | .1 | 1.9 |
| 2006 | L.A. Lakers | 7 | 7 | 33.6 | .458 | .364 | 1.000 | 6.4 | 1.7 | 1.0 | .1 | 12.1 |
| 2007 | L.A. Lakers | 5 | 5 | 25.6 | .389 | .417 | .750 | 4.2 | 2.6 | 1.4 | .2 | 7.2 |
| 2008 | L.A. Lakers | 21 | 0 | 16.8 | .454 | .423 | .722 | 2.6 | 2.0 | .5 | .2 | 6.0 |
| 2009† | L.A. Lakers | 21 | 0 | 15.8 | .427 | .313 | .611 | 2.5 | 2.1 | .7 | .1 | 3.8 |
| 2010† | L.A. Lakers | 16 | 0 | 6.0 | .304 | .222 | .500 | .5 | .9 | .1 | .1 | 1.1 |
| 2011 | L.A. Lakers | 1 | 0 | 4.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
| Career | 88 | 12 | 14.6 | .420 | .360 | .701 | 2.3 | 1.7 | .5 | .1 | 4.3 | |
| 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 | 82 | 26 | 56 | .317 | 4th inPacific | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| L.A. Lakers | 2017–18 | 82 | 35 | 47 | .427 | 3rd in Pacific | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| L.A. Lakers | 2018–19 | 82 | 37 | 45 | .451 | 4th in Pacific | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Sacramento | 2019–20 | 72 | 31 | 41 | .431 | 4th in Pacific | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Sacramento | 2020–21 | 72 | 31 | 41 | .431 | 5th in Pacific | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Sacramento | 2021–22 | 17 | 6 | 11 | .353 | (fired) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 407 | 166 | 241 | .408 | — | — | — | — | |||
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)In the filing, Walton said he did not write a forward for Tennant's book and does not consider himself a mentor to her.
