Lakers’ Head Coach Luke Walton Is Adored By His Players

In today’s NBA, a coach must be able to get through his players regardless of their age. It seems Luke Walton gets this generation, and they adore him for it. 

Lakers’ general manager Rob Pelinka seems to be the perfect boss for Lakers head coach Luke Walton, as he spoke today about hiring a Wellness coordinator and bringing in business titans to inspire these young players. So that helps Luke, but Luke doesn’t need that much help, they players cannot say enough about their head coach.

Walton is either committed to adapting to the culture changes and has learned how to get through to young folks or, he is just a naturally likable guy who enjoys spending time everyone and mentoring them. Probably the latter.

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With the College landscape changing so quickly and all the one-and-done’s and players testing the waters declaring for the draft, NBA teams moving forward will need a players coach. A skill that is imperative for coaches these days is to be able to figure out how to tap into the best parts of each player.

Luke Walton had the task this season to pick up and dust off a bunch of young players who had just survived a previously painful season with an old school coach and try to make something positive come out of his first year.

In a huge turnaround from last season’s exit interviews, not one player said anything even remotely negative today about their head coach, and that’s encouraging for the future of the Lakers franchise.

In a losing season where the Lakers lost almost twice as many games as they won, it’s a miracle that these players came away with a sense of being cared about, feeling like they learned a lot and that they have a coach who has their back and can relate to them. You could call it a miracle.

Julius Randle also spoke about how Coach Luke was so positive, even when things are not looking good or when a player makes a big mistake.

Not only does Walton related to his players, but he also knows that he has to show these young players he is all in as well. Jordan Clarkson talked about just that in his exit interview.

Walton also understands Millenials do things by consensus, so Luke listens to them and their ideas. It’s not a one-way conversation like it seemed to be with Byron Scott (bless his heart). Scott learned the way most of his generation did, through a “Break them down, then build them back up” strategy. That does not work for this generation.

Corey Brewer has played for a lot of famous coaches like Rick Carlisle, George Karl, Kevin McHale and Mike D’Antoni. He said that when he was in Minnesota, he had a coach every year. Brewer seems to enjoy playing for Luke and wants to come back. Luke’s positive attitude is right for a younger group according to Brewer. He enjoyed helping Luke mentor the players, especially when they miss their assignments.

Must Read: 5 Takeaways from Lakers Exit Interviews

Walton has a positive effect on everyone, including me and everyone at the Lake Show Life. Who doesn’t love Luke Walton?