Luke Walton brings the Arizona Wildcats and the legacy of the legendary Lute Olson to the Lakers
One week ago, Luke Walton was named the newest head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers while the Arizona Wildcats baseball game against USC was being played. Pac-12 and Wildcats announcers alike were beaming with pride when they heard that a former Arizona student athlete in Walton had landed a high-profile gig in professional sports.
Walton’s ties run deep in Arizona history. He was part of the 2001 team that fell just short of a national championship under head coach Lute Olson, a feat that will forever go down in history and is touted as a huge accomplishment before every Arizona home game at the McKale Center in Tucson.
When Luke Walton shows up at an Arizona basketball game, like he did with his family this past March in Las Vegas for the Pac-12 tournament, he is greeted by all Wildcats fans chanting “LUUUUUKKKKKEEEEEE!” The love is evident as Walton is greeted with the same warm welcome as the Hall-of-Fame coach in Olson.
The first person that Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr thanked after winning the NBA Championship last season—with Walton on the sidelines, no less—was Olson, his college coach and mentor. Olson also showed up to surprise Kerr at the Coach of the Year press conference and shows up for many Warriors games to support one of his proteges.
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As Lute Olson also encouraged Luke Walton to take the Lakers job, Lakers and Wildcats fans can expect much of the same attention for the newest head coach in LA. Bottom line, relationships and ties to the Arizona Wildcats do matter in professional sports. And Luke has a readymade support system in place outside of the Lakers front office.
One area that this could help is in potentially making the Lakers more desirable for former Arizona players and make former Wildcats more receptive to Walton’s ideas. A potential example for what fans in LA could expect is with Steve Kerr and Andre Iguodala. When Kerr sat down to talk to his fellow Arizona alum in Iguodala about coming off the bench and not starting, the veteran accepted his new role. Perhaps that transition wouldn’t have been as smooth without the Arizona ties.
Many Wildcats fans adopted the Warriors NBA team as their own last season and showed the Golden State love and adoration in addition to that of Warriors fans. If the Lakers can expect that as well with Walton coming to town, that has to help with confidence knowing your college and professional fans want you to succeed.
In terms of other advantages from his Arizona ties, Walton can get great advice from Olson on basketball strategy, much like Kerr does today. However, another interesting wrinkle could come in terms of future personnel.
Arizona basketball has landed four five-star commits in the past year, most of whom will be one-and-dones. Walton’s connection with the Arizona program and current head coach Sean Miller could wind up helping him connect with young Wildcats players to form relationships that can be massaged down the road.
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Lakers fans have a coach incoming who has strong ties to a storied program. Arizona alumni are very tight-knit and the Wildcats fans are very loyal. As Walton brings that legacy to the Lakers sidelines, hopefully he and the franchise can reap the benefits.