Los Angeles Lakers Head Coach Luke Walton on Coaching, Leadership, Relationships

On this podcast, we get to hear from many different vantage points: artists, scientist, elite military, politicians, those who run highly successful businesses, and those who have been on the razor’s edge in the sports arena. When it comes to elite sport, there’s a rare breed that have succeeded as both player and coach — and winning championships in both roles is almost unheard of. That is why I wanted to sit down with Luke Walton, head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. Luke played in the NBA for 10 years, winning 2 championships. He’s coached for 4 years, winning one NBA title with the Golden State Warriors. But even more important to his track record, Luke is flat-out a phenomenal human being. He was hired as the 26th head coach in Lakers franchise history, the eighth individual to both play and coach for the organization, and is the youngest coach in the NBA. Luke has been around the game of basketball and legends his entire life. His dad, Bill, played under John Wooden at UCLA, 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 the only pair in NBA history to both win multiple NBA titles. Luke’s had the fortune of being coached by and playing with the likes of Lute Olson, Phil Jackson, Steve Kerr, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Karl Malone, Gary Payton, and the list goes on and on. In this conversation, we talk about the impact these people have had on the way he looks at life and how he thinks about improvement. We discuss how relationships impact performance. We talk about the mindset that is required to make it at the professional level and why he believes mindfulness is an important part of that equation. I hope this conversation gives you some wonderful insight into how Luke approaches learning, living, growing and being in relationships to bring the best out of each other. Support Finding Mastery on Patreon! Sign up here.