Talking Fundamentals With Lakers Player Development Coach Theo Robertson
It’s 4:45pm. The Lakers game is still three hours from tipping off, and yet one man is already on the court, hard at work– Lakers Player Development coach Theo Robertson. Robertson has been prepping the players for the evening’s game. He takes each Laker through their individual warmup routine, working with guards on jumpers off screens, and big men with post moves. Robertson’s aim is to get the players ready to compete, and whether it’s on the STAPLES Center court before games, or at the Lakers training facility, it’s his job to help the Lakers improve in basketball every day.
“When I work with guys, I’ll always say, ‘Master the fundamentals so you can forget them,’” Robertson said. “By that I mean we aim to make the fundamentals ingrained into what [the players] do, that it’s a part of their fabric and their base. When your core is rock solid then from there you can add the creativity and the flexibility to your game.”
Even NBA stars work on the fundamentals. Some of the same drills that Robertson works on with the players are the drills practiced by the Junior Lakers. These fundamentals, Robertson says, are key building blocks.
“Becoming a solid basketball player takes a whole lot of patience, and that’s what people neglect,” Robertson said. “You’ve got to have fun and enjoy the process, because it’s certainly a lot of hard work. You have to love the game, and love the process of getting better and working on your craft, and on the fundamentals and be willing to make sacrifices.”
Robertson spent the last two seasons, helping lead the Golden State Warriors to back-to-back NBA Finals as the team’s video coordinator and video intern and is excited to now move on the court to help the Lakers this season.
“There’s just an overwhelming sense of pride that you get, obviously understanding the tradition of the Lakers and what it means to so many people around the world,” Robertson said. “It’s just really exciting. There’s so much growth out there for these guys ahead of them, not only for them, but for myself as well. It’s exciting just to be an integral part of that process, and hopefully it’s a collaborative effort. I tell them I’ll learn as much from them as hopefully they will from me. So that’s an exciting thing.”
Robertson was a standout hooper in college at Cal where he earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors and finished his career with the school’s all-time best 3PFG percentage (.453). The dream for him was always to stay in the game of basketball.
“I’m biased, but I think basketball is the greatest game in the world,” Robertson said. “You can always be playing the game and always getting better. You can be walking down the street with a ball in your hands and you’re just working on your ball handling. You can find a hoop, you can play by yourself, you can play one’s, two’s three’s, five’s, all different games that are associated with it. With other sports, you usually need something or somebody else to work at it or just have fun with it. But basketball, you can do it every day.”