{"id":27266,"date":"2026-02-25T15:00:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T20:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/former-virginia-basketball-coach-tony-bennett-joins-lakers-as-draft-consultant\/"},"modified":"2026-02-25T15:00:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T20:00:35","slug":"former-virginia-basketball-coach-tony-bennett-joins-lakers-as-draft-consultant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/former-virginia-basketball-coach-tony-bennett-joins-lakers-as-draft-consultant\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Virginia Basketball Coach Tony Bennett Joins Lakers as Draft Consultant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

Former University of Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett has accepted a position with the Los Angeles Lakers as a consultant for NBA draft operations, the team announced Wednesday.<\/p>

Bennett, who stepped away from his coaching career in October 2024, earned recognition as NCAA national Coach of the Year on three occasions during his tenure.<\/p>

During his time leading the Cavaliers, Bennett secured a national title in the 2018-19 season and collected four Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year awards.<\/p>

“We’re thrilled and honored to welcome Tony as an advisor to the Lakers basketball operations department,” Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said. “As we refine and build out our NBA draft and scouting processes, we could think of no better basketball mind than Tony Bennett to have as a resource. Tony’s track record of forming culture, with high-character, high-skill and high-IQ players is revered and respected across all basketball circles. Tony will be an incredible asset to our basketball leadership, to our scouts and to our draft department as a whole. We are truly excited.”<\/p>

The 56-year-old coach posted an impressive 364-136 record while at Virginia between 2009 and 2024. Prior to his success with the Cavaliers, Bennett coached at Washington State from 2006 to 2009, where he went 69-33.<\/p>

“When Rob and I began talking, what stood out to me was the chance to help out such a storied organization,” Bennett said. “The Lakers carry a tradition that speaks for itself, so to be connected to it and assist Rob and the Lakers in any way I can is exciting.”<\/p>

Throughout his coaching career, Bennett developed 13 players who eventually entered the NBA draft, including former NBA Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon, two-time NBA three-point shooting percentage champion Joe Harris, and active players De’Andre Hunter with the Kings, Ty Jerome on the Grizzlies, Ryan Dunn playing for the Suns, and Trey Murphy III with the Pelicans.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Lakers have brought on former University of Virginia basketball coach Tony Bennett to serve as an NBA draft consultant. Bennett, who stepped down from coaching in October 2024, led the Cavaliers to a national championship and earned multiple coaching honors during his career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":27265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[836],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1772049635330.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-75M","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":68387,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/former-orlando-magic-coach-jamahl-mosley-named-new-pelicans-head-coach\/","url_meta":{"origin":27266,"position":0},"title":"Former Orlando Magic Coach Jamahl Mosley Named New Pelicans Head Coach","author":"Admin","date":"May 18, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The New Orleans Pelicans have selected Jamahl Mosley as their new head coach, replacing interim coach James Borrego. Mosley spent five seasons coaching the Orlando Magic before being dismissed earlier this month following a playoff loss.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779122313328.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779122313328.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779122313328.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779122313328.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53187,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/former-nba-star-damon-jones-set-to-plead-guilty-in-major-gambling-case\/","url_meta":{"origin":27266,"position":1},"title":"Former NBA Star Damon Jones Set to Plead Guilty in Major Gambling Case","author":"Admin","date":"April 16, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Former NBA player Damon Jones is scheduled to become the first defendant to enter a guilty plea in a massive gambling investigation involving over 30 arrests. The case includes charges related to rigged poker games and sharing inside information about NBA stars' injuries.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776364685697.jpg?fit=1000%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776364685697.jpg?fit=1000%2C668&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776364685697.jpg?fit=1000%2C668&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1776364685697.jpg?fit=1000%2C668&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":71703,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/lakers-hire-former-pelicans-executive-as-new-assistant-gm\/","url_meta":{"origin":27266,"position":2},"title":"Lakers Hire Former Pelicans Executive as New Assistant GM","author":"Admin","date":"May 25, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Los Angeles Lakers have brought aboard Rohan Ramadas from the New Orleans Pelicans to serve in one of two newly created assistant general manager roles. The move kicks off what's expected to be a significant offseason for the franchise as they face key decisions about several players including LeBron\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779733370576.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779733370576.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779733370576.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779733370576.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779733370576.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":69170,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/dallas-mavericks-fire-coach-jason-kidd-after-five-seasons\/","url_meta":{"origin":27266,"position":3},"title":"Dallas Mavericks Fire Coach Jason Kidd After Five Seasons","author":"Admin","date":"May 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Dallas Mavericks have parted ways with head coach Jason Kidd after five seasons, just two weeks after hiring former Toronto Raptors executive Masai Ujiri as team president. The decision comes after a tumultuous period that included trading star player Luka Doncic and missing the playoffs twice in recent years.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779237483591.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779237483591.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779237483591.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1779237483591.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63979,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/dallas-mavericks-name-mike-schmitz-as-new-general-manager\/","url_meta":{"origin":27266,"position":4},"title":"Dallas Mavericks Name Mike Schmitz as New General Manager","author":"Admin","date":"May 8, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Dallas Mavericks have appointed Mike Schmitz from the Portland Trail Blazers as their new general manager, just three days after naming Masai Ujiri as team president. Schmitz takes over the position previously held by Nico Harrison, who was dismissed in November following the controversial trade of Luka Doncic to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778276222672.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778276222672.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778276222672.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/news-1778276222672.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45518,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/lebron-james-makes-nba-history-in-lakers-win-over-cleveland\/","url_meta":{"origin":27266,"position":5},"title":"LeBron James Makes NBA History in Lakers Win Over Cleveland","author":"Admin","date":"April 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"LeBron James broke the NBA record for most career wins during the Lakers' 127-113 victory over Cleveland on Tuesday. The basketball legend surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's mark with his 1,229th combined regular season and playoff victory.","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/category\/sports\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775028110120.jpg?fit=450%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}