The Los Angeles Lakers announced the hire of former Virginia coach Tony Bennett as an NBA Draft advisor, as the former national championship winning coach will lend his eye for college talent to help general manager Rob Pelinka as the Lakers create their big board for the 2026 NBA Draft.
The Lakers are entering a new era under the ownership of Mark Walter, and with that there has been more of an investment in bringing in outside voices. Under Jeanie Buss, the Lakers had a much smaller operation where they leaned on those inside Buss’ circle of trust. Whether Bennett’s arrival comes at the specific request of Walter, or simply part of a greater willingness to expand the operation, he’ll provide the Lakers with a unique perspective on scouting at the college level.
Bennett’s new position as an advisor with the Lakers is his first official role with a basketball team since his shocking retirement at 55 years old prior to the 2025 season.
Bennett coached at Virginia from 2009-2024, leading the Cavaliers to a 364-136 overall record with two ACC tournament titles, six ACC regular season titles, 10 NCAA Tournament appearances and a national championship in 2019. Bennett’s Virginia program produced five first round picks — Justin Anderson, Ty Jerome, De’Andre Hunter, Trey Murphy III and Ryan Dunn — and he also coached Klay Thompson at Washington State prior to leaving for Virginia.
The Lakers hold their own first round pick and have not had tremendous success in the draft in recent years. Some of that is due to them not having first round picks in 2025 and 2022 due to trades, but in 2023 and 2024 they took Jalen Hood-Schifino and Dalton Knecht — both selected at No. 17 overall — and neither positively impacted the Lakers rotation.
With Luka Dončić as the new star L.A. is trying to build around and a cap sheet that will clear up tremendously over the next two years, the Lakers will be looking to finally hit on their first round pick in 2026 and get a cost-controlled rotation piece to add to their core. They will lean on Bennett’s eye for the college game to try and have better success with their pick this year, as their lack of picks in 2027 and 2029 makes it even more imperative to hit on this year’s opportunity in a strong draft class.
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