The Los Angeles Lakers entered the season with a star-studded roster that landed on many people's lists as one of the top contenders in the league. Unfortunately, the roster proved to be a winner on paper only, as Los Angeles finished 33-49 and missed the playoffs. Sound familiar, Lakers fans? The 2012 Lakers, who did make the playoffs, had a roster loaded with talent, including the likes of Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, though the team failed to achieve the success that was predicted for them. The head coach of that team, Mike D'Antoni, made some hilarious comments on coaching that team via the Old Man and the Three podcast.
Mike D’Antoni on the difficulties of coaching the Lakers, not having a healthy Steve Nash in LA, and “friction”. pic.twitter.com/oD5SD4ZpzP
— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) April 11, 2022
Redick set up the question by mentioning the ‘friction' faced by D'Antoni as the coach of the Lakers with Bryant, Nash and Howard, to which the veteran head coach responded by repeating the word with some hilarious emphasis.
D'Antoni went on to detail how the players, such as Bryant and Howard, didn't really like each other. The former Phoenix Suns head coach thought that the presence of Nash, who was a key piece of the Suns' locker room, could help to smooth things over from a chemistry standpoint, though that backfired when Nash missed time during the season.
That led to another hilarious moment from D'Antoni when he jokingly told Redick that the only reason he took the Lakers' job was because “he had just had his knee replaced and he was under the influence of drugs.”
While the 2012 Lakers may have been a forgettable experience for D'Antoni, he has recently been named in some circles as a possible head coaching candidate once again.
He may get the chance to have (hopefully) better experiences pacing the sidelines for an NBA team.
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