LeBron James would reportedly be “very enthused” if the Lakers decided to hire Mark Jackson as the franchise’s next head coach. The Lakers are looking to hire a new coach after dismissing Frank Vogel after leading the Lakers to a championship in 2020 and a first-round exit last year against the Suns.
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, although it’s not known if Jackson is actually on the list of coaching candidates that the Lakers will be looking to hire, it does speak well of Jackson’s reputation and acumen that The King has, at least according to reports, given his vote of support for the hiring of the former Warriors coach.
The last time Jackson was on the sideline, guiding the Dubs to a 51-31 record in the 2013-2014 season before they lost in the first round to the Clippers. Over his three seasons as Golden State’s head coach, Jackson led the Warriors to a 121-109 regular-season record and a 9-10 record in the postseason in their two playoff appearances with him at the helm.
Jackson was subsequently let go after their short run in the playoffs and replaced by Steve Kerr, who led the Warriors to three titles. Kerr has given Jackson credit for building that team into what it is on the defensive end.
Despite a Big 3 of James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, and other future Hall of Famers like Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard, the Lakers mustered a 33-49 record. They missed the playoffs for the second time in four years during James’ LA tenure. The reason is bad defense, lack of continuity and health, and bad roster fit overall.
James’ 30.3 points per game were the only bright spot, which helped move him to second place in the all-time scoring list, right behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
