South Bay Lakers GM Nick Mazzella and team President/CEO Joey Buss announced today former Arizona Basketball star Miles Simon will be the next South Bay Lakers Head Coach.
More good NBA news for a former beloved Arizona Basketball player! After four seasons as Assistant Coach with the Los Angeles Lakers, Miles Simon was just named Head Coach of their G-League team, the South Bay Lakers. Simon was a part of the 2020 NBA Championship Lakers coaching staff under Head Coach Frank Vogel. Simon takes over from Coby Karl (George Karls son and former Laker).
President Buss had this to say about the promotion, “We are extremely excited to have Miles lead the South Bay Lakers as our new head coach. His vast experience as a coach and player will be invaluable to the organization as we look to establish a winning culture in our pursuit of a championship.”
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South Bay Lakers GM Mazzella chimed in as well, “Miles has been an integral member of the Lakers organization for many years — His ability to develop players will be vital to our franchise and we know that he will build a winning and positive atmosphere around our organization.”
Following in the footsteps of fellow Alumni Matt Brase (Houston Rockets/Rio Grande Vipers now Assistant Coach for the Portland Trail Blazers) and Joseph Blair (Rio Grande Vipers now Assistant Coach for the Washington Wizards), Simon will now be a head coach in the NBA G-League. He joins fellow Alum Jason Terry as a rookie NBA G-League coach this season. Terry will be coaching the Denver Nuggets newly affiliated G-League team the Grand Rapids Gold.
This isn’t Simon’s first stint as a head coach. Simon was the Lakers Summer League head coach in 2018 when he led the team to the Championship game. Just a year prior, he was an Assistant Coach on the staff when the team was crowned 2018 Summer League Champions.
OFFICIAL: Welcome to the South Bay, @milessimon 🌴 pic.twitter.com/vZ1wXU38DA
— South Bay Lakers (@SouthBayLakers) September 1, 2021
On the Lakers, Simon’s main responsibilities were to run the pre-draft workouts and offseason development programs. He also served as head coach of the 2017 USA Junior National Select Team for the Nike Hoops Summit, the team beat the World Select Team. In addition to serving as a college basketball analyst for ESPN, Miles also earned gold medals as an assistant for the following teams:
- 2015 USA Men’s U16 National Team
- 2016 USA Men’s U17 World Championship
Let’s not forget the most important experience Simon has. He won the only University of Arizona NCAA Tournament as well as being awarded the Tournaments Most Outstanding Player in 1997. Following a stint playing in the NBA and overseas, Simon spent three seasons as Lute Olson’s assistant from 2005-2008.
“I couldn’t be happier to continue my career with the Lakers organization as South Bay’s head coach. It is an honor to lead such a successful franchise and I look forward to working with our team both on and off the court,” said the new South Bay Lakers head coach.
Simon is going to be great, he is so happy, and we are happy for him!