Photo Courtesy Of Erik Drost/ Wikimedia Commons
Former NBA Champion Rasheed Wallace is set to become an assistant coach for the Lakers.
According to reports, Wallace will take
on the role under the Lakers’ new head coach Darvin Ham. They both famously played alongside each other for the Detroit Pistons and were a part of the 2004 title team.“Sources: Four-time NBA All-Star Rasheed Wallace has agreed on a deal to be an assistant coach for the Lakers under new head coach Darvin Ham,” The Athletic reporter Shams Charania tweeted on Jun. 6. “Both were teammates in Detroit and part of the 2004 title team. Memphis’ Penny Hardaway hinted today Wallace may join Ham in LA.”
As an assistant coach for the Lakers, Wallace is required to help the team get back to the postseason after they missed it with a 33-49 record. However, fellow former NBA star Metta Sandiford-Artest thinks he’s up to the task.
“I think Rasheed is brilliant, smart,” Sandiford-Artest said
. He added that the 47-year-old is “as good as it’s going to come when you talk about a basketball brain.”In 2013, Wallace was an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons for one season, and in 2019 he became the head coach at Charles E. Jordan High School in N.C. Then, in 2021, he was a member of the Memphis Tigers coaching staff under another fellow former NBA star Penny Hardaway for just one season.
The Philadephia native previously played for several teams throughout his career on the court, including the Detroit Pistons( where he won two championships), Portland Trailblazers, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, and Atlanta Hawks. He was drafted by the Washington Bullets–now known as the Washington Wizards–with the fourth overall pick during the 1995 NBA Draft after playing ball at the University Of North Carolina.
Wallace has since played in the NBA for 16 seasons and eventually retired in 2010.