Former Lakers champ Derek Fisher will be back on the sideline in the upcoming basketball season, but you might be surprised where he is landing: Crespi Carmelite High School, an all-boys Catholic school in Encino, California.
When last we saw Fisher on a bench as a coach, it was with the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA, where he was both the head coach and the general manager. He was hired in 2019 and took over the GM the following year, guiding the team to some success during two seasons ravaged by Covid-19.
But in his final two seasons, Fisher’s Sparks nosedived, going 12-20 (missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade) and starting 5-7 in 2022, when Fisher was fired.
Since the firing, Fisher had been coaching middle school boys at Heritage Christian School.
Fisher will take his clipboard to the elite prep ranks now. In a statement on the opportunity, he said, “My family and I are thankful and grateful for this opportunity to join the Crespi Family. We want to thank Dr. Kenneth Foersch, Dr. Liam Joyce, and Athletic Director Brian Bilek for their professionalism and collaboration. Coaching and teaching is a true passion and I look forward to continuing this focus on the next generation of young student-athletes.”
Fisher Struggled as Coach of the Knicks
Fisher had a rough go of coaching in the WNBA, and it was not much better in the NBA, either, when he spent nearly two seasons running the Knicks, in 2014-15 and 2015-16. He was brought on in New York after then-president Phil Jackson lost out on his first choice, Steve Kerr, who nearly joined the Knicks before opting to coach Stephen Curry in Golden State.
Kerr went on to win four championships with the Warriors, while Fisher went a miserable, injury-marred 17-65 in his first season in New York. Fisher was fired the following season and finished in New York with a 40-96 record, second-worst in team history.
As Fisher said in 2017, “We both didn’t know exactly what we were doing. Being the head coach is not like playing. Being president is not like being the head coach.”
Fisher Was a Lakers Stalwart
Still, despite his struggles as a coach, Fisher put together a sterling resume as a player for 18 seasons. He came to the Lakers as the No. 24 pick in the 1996 draft, with slightly less hype than fellow 1996-er Kobe Bryant, but the two eventually became mainstays in the Lakers’ lineup.
Fisher played his first eight seasons for the Lakers, and was part of L.A.’s three-peat team from 2000-03. Not only did he earn a reputation for clutch shooting, but he established himself as a fixture in the locker room, one of the mediators in the tumultuous days of the Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant in-term rivalry.
Fisher also served as the president of the NBA’s player association, and was in that role during the 2011 lockout. His skills with people were one reason many thought he’d be an ideal coach, but it did not work out that way in the NBA or WNBA.
Now, he will try the big-time prep ranks.
School athletic director Brian Bilek said in his statement on the hiring, “Crespi Carmelite High School welcomes Coach Fisher and his family to the Crespi Family. We would also like to thank the dedicated members of the community whose efforts and input helped us select a coach we firmly believe is committed to the holistic development of student-athletes. Crespi Basketball now prepares to boldly enter a new era under Coach Fisher’s leadership with a program poised to continue its tradition of excellence!”
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Ex-Lakers Champ Taking Coaching Talents to SoCal High School Team