Luke Walton
Head Coach

Luke Walton enters his second season as head coach, after he was hired as the 26th head coach in Lakers franchise history, and the 22nd in the Los Angeles era, on April 29, 2016.

In his first season at the helm, Walton’s staff improved the team’s win total by nine games from the 2015-16 season, winning 17 games at home, the most by the franchise since 2012-13. Walton’s fast-paced, ball movement-focused offense resulted in an average of 104.7 points per game, the most by a Laker team since the 2008-09 season. Walton and his staff also developed rookies Brandon Ingram and Ivica Zubac throughout the season. Ingram’s averages improved each month, as he earned a trip to the Rising Star’s Challenge at NBA All-Star Weekend. Zubac notched four double-doubles on the season, and became the youngest Laker in franchise history to record a 25-point double-double.

Walton rejoined the Lakers family after spending two seasons as an assistant coach on Steve Kerr’s staff with the Golden State Warriors. The 36-year-old joins George Mikan, Jim Pollard, Jerry West, Pat Riley, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Kurt Rambis, and Byron Scott as the eighth individual to both play and coach for the Lakers organization. In his two years in Golden State, the Warriors appeared in consecutive NBA Finals and won the 2015 NBA Championship. Stepping into the interim head coaching position for Kerr, who was forced to take a medical leave of absence from the team, to begin the 2015-16 campaign, Walton oversaw a 39-4 start to the season that included winning the first 24 consecutive games of the year, an NBA record. The team’s 73-9 regular season record stands as the best mark in NBA history, and Walton finished ninth in Coach of the Year voting, even though he was not eligible for the award.

Prior to his time with the Warriors, Walton served as a player development coach for the then Los Angeles D-Fenders during the 2013-14 season. He began his formal experience in the coaching realm during the 2011 NBA lockout, when he served as an assistant coach at the University of Memphis.

The San Diego native enjoyed a 10-year NBA playing career (2003-13) with the Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and was an integral part of Los Angeles’ NBA championship teams in 2009 and 2010. Originally selected with the 32nd overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Walton averaged 4.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 564 regular season games (138 starts). He made the postseason seven times (all with the Lakers), logging 88 postseason appearances (12 starts), and represented Los Angeles in the Shooting Stars Competition at the 2005 All-Star Weekend.

Walton played collegiately at the University of Arizona for Hall-of-Fame coach Lute Olson, leaving the Pac-10 as one of only three players in conference history to tally 1,000 career points, 500 rebounds, and 500 assists. He was named an All Pac-10 performer twice in his four year career (1999-2003), and was a Wooden Award Finalist as a senior. His best statistical season came as a junior, where he posted averages of 15.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists, earning his selection to four All-America teams, including being one of 10 players to receive John R. Wooden Award All-American honors.

Walton’s father, Bill, is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and was named one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players. The father/son duo are one of two pairs in NBA history to both win multiple NBA titles (Mychal and Klay Thompson). Walton’s three brothers (Nate, Adam, and Chris) all played basketball in college, and he cites his mother Susie as the person he most admires for raising four boys.

Luke and his wife Bre, who he originally met at Arizona where she was a standout volleyball player, have two children: son Lawson and daughter Landen.

Brian Shaw
Associate Head Coach

Brian Shaw returned to the Lakers organization a season ago, after winning five championships with the franchise; three as a player (2000-02) and two as an assistant coach (2009 and 2010).

Shaw brings a wealth of coaching experience to the bench after serving as head coach of the Denver Nuggets for two seasons (2013-15), associate head coach of the Indiana Pacers for two years (2011-13, helping the Pacers to the postseason both years including a run to the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals), and seven seasons as an assistant coach with the Lakers (2004-11). Before joining the Lakers bench, he served as a scout for the team for the 2003-04 campaign after concluding his playing career as a Laker following the 2002-03 season.

Credited with the development of young players at each of his coaching stops, Shaw had a long and successful playing career with the Lakers, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Portland Trail Blazers, and spent the 1989-90 season playing professionally in Italy. The 24th pick of the 1988 NBA Draft (Boston) averaged 6.9 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.4 rebounds in 23.0 minutes per game over his 943-game career, while making 361 starts and appearing in 127 playoff games over 11 postseasons. He also played for the gold medal-winning Team USA in the 1986 FIBA World Championship.

Shaw played collegiately at Saint Mary’s College of California for two seasons before transferring to UC Santa Barbara, where he was the Big West Conference Player of the Year in 1988. His No. 22 jersey is retired by the Gauchos.

In 2000, his hometown of Oakland declared Aug. 10 as “Brian Shaw Day.”

He is married to his wife Nikki and they have three children: Brianna, B.J., and Bianca.

Jesse Mermuys
Assistant Coach

Jesse Mermuys begins his second season as an assistant coach with the Lakers. Upon joining the Lakers staff, Mermuys served as head coach of the Lakers 2016 entry in the Las Vegas Summer League.

During the 2015-16 season, Mermuys served as head coach of the Toronto Raptors’ NBA G League affiliate, Raptors 905. Under Mermuys’ watch as the first coach in the history of the franchise, Norman Powell developed and played a crucial role in Toronto’s 2016 postseason run, Greg Smith earned a call-up and was signed for the remainder of the season by the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Axel Toupane was named the G League’s Most Improved Player in addition to earning a multi-year contract with the Denver Nuggets.

With an extensive background in player development, Mermuys was a Raptors assistant coach on Dwane Casey’s staff for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons, and coached Toronto’s entry in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in 2014 and 2015. His prior NBA experience includes spending the 2012-13 season with the Houston Rockets as assistant coach/director of player development and working for the Denver Nuggets for four seasons, serving as video coordinator, advance scout, and ultimately assistant coach/advanced scout.

A graduate of the University of Arizona with a degree in business management, Mermuys was director of basketball operations for the Wildcats from 2006-08. He has also worked at the collegiate level as video coordinator at New Mexico State and assistant coach at Southern Utah.

Mermuys got his start in coaching as the head freshman and varsity assistant coach at Tucson’s Salpointe Catholic High School from 2001-03. During the 2003-04 campaign, Mermuys was an assistant coach at Pima Community College and also served as the camp director for the Luke Walton/Richard Jefferson basketball camp. He played collegiately at Glendale Community College in Glendale, Arizona.

Jesse and his wife Michelle are parents to their four-year-old daughter, Myla, and two-year-old son, Grey.

Brian Keefe
Assistant Coach

Currently in his 13th NBA season, and ninth as an assistant coach, Brian Keefe begins his second year with the Lakers organization as part of Luke Walton’s staff.

Keefe made the move to L.A. after spending the previous two seasons (2013-15) as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks, preceded by seven seasons spent working with the Oklahoma City Thunder (including the organization’s final season in Seattle), originally joining the franchise in the summer of 2007. He served as a player development coach for two years with the Thunder before spending his final five seasons as an assistant coach, and during his run, the team reached the post-season five times including a trip to the 2012 NBA Finals.

Prior to joining the Thunder, Keefe spent two seasons (2005-07) as assistant video coordinator for the San Antonio Spurs, earning an NBA Championship ring as part of Gregg Popovich’s staff following the Spurs’ title run in 2007.

Keefe’s coaching career began in 2000-01 as a graduate assistant at the University of South Florida and continued as an assistant coach at Bryant University in Rhode Island (2001-05) before joining the Spurs.

A graduate of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas with a degree in sociology, Keefe played his final two collegiate seasons for the Rebels after transferring from UC Irvine. He served as team captain at both schools, and was named to the All-Big West Second Team in 1996 while at UC Irvine.

A native of Winchester, MA, Brian and his wife Cindy are proud parents of daughters Brooke (five) and Noelle (four).

Mark Madsen
Assistant Coach

A two-time NBA Champion as a player with the Lakers (2001 and 2002), fan favorite Mark Madsen returns for his fifth season in a coaching capacity with Los Angeles, and fourth as an assistant coach, after serving the 2013-14 campaign as player development coach.

Selected by the Lakers in the first round (29th overall) of the 2000 NBA Draft, Madsen played three seasons in Los Angeles (2000-03) and was a member of back-to-back NBA championship teams his first two seasons in the league. He then signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves as a free agent prior to the 2003-04 campaign and played six seasons (2004-09) with the Wolves. In 453 games (70 starts) over nine NBA seasons, Madsen averaged 2.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per game.

Following his playing career, Madsen served as an assistant coach during the 2009-10 season with the Utah Flash of the NBA D-League before returning to his alma mater, Stanford University, where he earned his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2012. That same year, he was named an assistant coach on Stanford Head Coach Johnny Dawkins’ staff and spent the 2012-13 season working in recruiting, opponent game planning, and player skill development.

Known by fans as “Mad Dog” for his signature physical and aggressive style of play, Madsen has enjoyed success at every level of basketball. Helping lead Stanford to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 1998 Final Four, Madsen averaged 10.9 points and 7.9 rebounds for his Cardinal career while ranking among the school’s top-10 all-time performers in field goal percentage (4th/.587) and total rebounds (6th/857). A two-time All-Pac-10 selection, Madsen was tabbed a two-time All-American by the NABC (1999 Third Team, 2000 Second Team) and a Third Team All-American by the Associated Press in 2000. He was also named a member of the John R. Wooden Award team as a senior. During Madsen’s playing career, Stanford compiled a 105-24 record, producing a .814 winning percentage that ranks second in school history for a consecutive four-year period. The Cardinal also notched its first 30-win season (1997-98), claimed two Pac-10 titles (1999, 2000), earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time (2000) and advanced to the NCAA Final Four (1998).

Madsen also played in international competition, leading the United States to a gold medal at the 1999 World University Games before being named to the roster for the 2001 Goodwill Games.

A native of Danville, CA, Madsen, 40, earned his undergraduate degree in economics in 2000. He attended San Ramon Valley High School and served a two-year Mormon mission in Spain following his graduation from high school.

He and his wife Hanna were married in September, 2016 and reside in Los Angeles.

Miles Simon
Assistant Coach

Miles Simon enters his first season on Luke Walton’s staff, most recently coaching alongside Brian Keefe and Mark Madsen on the Jud Buechler-led Lakers Summer League bench.

Simon joins the staff after serving as head coach of the 2017 USA Junior National Select Team for the Nike Hoops Summit, and leading the USA to a victory over the World Select Team. Simon won gold medals as an assistant for the 2016 USA Men’s U17 World Championship Team, as well as the 2015 USA Men’s U16 National Team.

In addition to his work with USA Basketball, Simon has spent each of the last nine NBA offseasons working in a player development role with some of the league’s top talent and has served as the Director of the Nike Basketball Academy each of the last two summers. Simon has also worked in broadcasting, serving as a college basketball analyst for ESPN.

The Arizona alumnus was the 1997 NCAA Tournament MOP after leading the Wildcats to a National Championship as a junior. Upon graduation, Simon played one season for the Orlando Magic (1998-99), before spending time playing overseas and in the CBA. At the conclusion of his playing career, Simon spent three seasons (2005-08) as an assistant coach at Arizona on Lute Olson’s staff.

Simon and his wife Kristy reside in North Tustin with their three children: Kiana (16), Sasha (seven) and Cameron (four).