The Los Angeles Lakers have confirmed the sacking of head coach Frank Vogel after a poor campaign which saw them miss out on the play-offs.
Vogel, appointed by the Lakers in 2019, led the franchise to an NBA championship in his first season in charge and despite a first-round playoff exit last year, saw his contract extended to 2023.
Vogel’s team won 33 of their matches, but lost 49 in a season which saw them finish 11th in the Western Conference.
His final match on Sunday was a 146-141 overtime win over Denver Nuggets.
Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ general manager, said: “This is an incredibly difficult decision to make, but one we feel is necessary at this point.”
Speaking after the win over Denver, Vogel had said “we’ll deal with tomorrow, tomorrow,” as reports suggested he was going to lose his job.
Confirming the news on Monday, the Lakers issued a statement thanking him for his efforts.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Frank both on and off the court,” added Pelinka, who is also the Lakers’ vice-president of basketball operations.
“Frank is a great coach and a good man. We will forever be grateful to him for his work in guiding us to the 2019-20 NBA championship.”
Vogel is the only coach, besides Jackson, to have led the team to a championship in 30 years.
Lakers’ star player LeBron James, 37, said he had nothing but respect for Vogel, despite failing to make the NBA post-season for only the fourth time in his glittering 19-year career.
“I respect Frank as a coach, as a man,” added the four-time NBA champion. “The partnership that we’ve had over the past few years has been nothing but just candid, great conversations.
“He’s a guy who gives everything to the game.”
Missing out on the play-offs was hugely disappointing for the Lakers. They lost 121-110 to the Phoenix Suns which was, at the time, their seventh straight defeat.
