Byron Scott is a retired American professional basketball player and former head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a supporting player, he secured three NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers during the Showtime period of the 1980s. In 2008, he was honored as the NBA Coach of the Year while coaching the New Orleans Hornets, now known as the Pelicans.
Early Life & College
Byron Antom Scott was born on March 28, 1961. He was raised in Inglewood, California, where he attended Morningside High School, located near The Forum, the former home of the Lakers.
Scott played college basketball at Arizona State University for three years, achieving notable success with the Sun Devils. He earned the title of Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 1980 and was named First-Team All-Pac-10 in 1983.
Over his collegiate career, he averaged 17.5 points per game. After his junior year, he declared for the 1983 NBA draft. In recognition of his contributions, Arizona State retired his jersey number 11 in 2011.
Byron Scott’s NBA Career
In the 1983 NBA draft, Byron Scott was picked by the San Diego Clippers with the fourth selection in the first round. He was later traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Norm Nixon in 1983. Scott’s professional career included stints with the Lakers, Indiana Pacers, and Vancouver Grizzlies.
For ten consecutive seasons, from 1983 to 1993, Byron Scott played for the Los Angeles Lakers, contributing to three NBA championships in 1985, 1987, and 1988.
He was recognized as a member of the 1984 All-Rookie Team, with an average of 10.6 points per game in 22 minutes. In the 1984-85 season, he achieved the highest three-point shooting percentage in the league at .433.
His peak performance occurred in the 1987-88 season, where he led the Lakers in scoring with an average of 21.7 points per game and also excelled in steals with an average of 1.91 per game. Scott held the position of starting shooting guard for the Lakers throughout his tenure from 1984 to 1993.
After the 1992–93 season, Scott was released by the Lakers and entered into a free-agent agreement with the Pacers. During Game 1 of the Pacers’ initial playoff round against the Orlando Magic, Scott successfully executed a game-winning three-pointer with 2.4 seconds on the clock.
In the 1995 NBA expansion draft, Scott was not protected by the Pacers and was subsequently chosen by the Vancouver Grizzlies, where he played for one season.
During the 1996–97 season, which marked the conclusion of Scott’s NBA career, he returned to the Lakers and served as a significant mentor to a team that included Shaquille O’Neal, Eddie Jones, Nick Van Exel, and the 18-year-old rookie Kobe Bryant.
He began his coaching career in 1998, serving as an assistant for the Sacramento Kings until 2000. That year, Byron Scott secured his inaugural head coaching position in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets, a role he held until 2004.
Subsequently, he coached the New Orleans Hornets from 2004 to 2009 and the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2010 to 2013. In 2014, Byron Scott took on the role of head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. He was honored as the NBA Coach of the Year in 2008 and has been a head coach for the NBA All-Star Game on two occasions.
Net Worth
Byron Scott is a former professional basketball player and current coach from the United States, with a net worth estimated at $14 million.
He played as a shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers between 1983 and 1993, subsequently joining the Indiana Pacers from 1993 to 1995, the Vancouver Grizzlies from 1995 to 1996, and making a return to the Lakers from 1996 to 1997.
