Tony Bennett surprisingly joins Lakers as special NBA Draft advisor

The Los Angeles Lakers announced on Wednesday that they have hired former Virginia Men’s Basketball head coach Tony Bennett to serve as their new NBA Draft Advisor. In this new role, Bennett will hold a key role alongside executive Rob Pelinka in the Lakers’ decisions both during and before the draft, aiding in players evaluations, scouting, and final decisions as to who the organization should select.

“We’re thrilled and honored to welcome Tony as an advisor to the Lakers basketball operations department,” Pelinka said in the team’s statement on Wednesday. “As we refine and build out our NBA draft 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, 56, retired as the head coach of Virginia in 2024, stunning many around the college basketball atmosphere with his decision. He left after being named the national coach of the year three different times and leading Virginia to a national championship in 2019, becoming the fourth former NBA player to win a national championship as a head coach.

As the head coach of Virginia, Bennett went 364-136 (.728), including 189-82 (.697) in ACC play.

“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.”

At Virginia, Bennett was known for developing several notable NBA talents through the years like Malcolm Brogdon, Joe Harris, De’Andre Hunter, Trey Murphy III, and Ty Jerome.

This is a developing story that will be updated shortly.

The post Tony Bennett surprisingly joins Lakers as special NBA Draft advisor appeared first on ClutchPoints.