Lakers Hire Tony Bennett As Draft Advisor
Tony Bennett has been hired by the Los Angeles Lakers as a NBA Draft advisor to Rob Pelinka.
"We're thrilled and honored to welcome Tony as an advisor to the Lakers basketball operations department," Pelinka said. "As we refine and build out our NBA draft and scouting processes, we could think of no better basketball mind than Tony Bennett to have as a resource. Tony's track record of forming culture, with high-character, high-skill and high-IQ players is revered and respected across all basketball circles. Tony will be an incredible asset to our basketball leadership, to our scouts and to our draft department as a whole. We are truly excited."
Bennett, a three-time national coach of the year recipient (2018, 2015, 2007), most recently served as head coach at the University of Virginia from 2009-24. He compiled a 364-136 (.728) regular-season record, including a 189-82 (.697) mark in ACC play. Bennett guided the Cavaliers to the 2019 NCAA championship, becoming just the fourth former NBA player to win the NCAA title as a head coach.
Bennett led UVA to 12 seasons of 20-plus wins before retiring. Under his leadership, Virginia captured six ACC regular-season championships and two conference tournament titles. Bennett became only the third coach in history to be named ACC Coach of the Year four times (2019, 2018, 2015, 2014), joining Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski.
"When Rob and I began talking, what stood out to me was the chance to help out such a storied organization," Bennett said. "The Lakers carry a tradition that speaks for itself, so to be connected to it and assist Rob and the Lakers in any way I can is exciting."
Prior to his tenure at Virginia, Bennett served as head coach at Washington State University from 2006-09, posting a 69-33 (.676) record. He guided the Cougars to back-to-back 26-win campaigns and two NCAA Tournament appearances (2006-08). Across 18 seasons at Virginia and Washington State, Bennett amassed a 433-169 (.719) head-coaching record. His teams, noted for their discipline and defensive prowess, produced 13 players who went on to be selected in the NBA Draft.
