Tag: frank vogel

Phoenix Suns hire Frank Vogel as their new head coach

The Phoenix Suns have named Frank Vogel as the team’s new head coach.

“We are thrilled to welcome Frank Vogel to the Phoenix Suns as our new head coach,” said Owner Mat Ishbia. “This is an important day for our organization as we continue to build a championship culture on and off the floor. Frank is an accomplished coach who understands how to win an NBA championship, which is our priority. Frank brings incredible character and work ethic, making him the ideal leader to continue to build one of the best organizations in all of sports.”

Per the Arizona Republic, “the 49-year-old Vogel agreed to a five-year, $31-million deal to replace Monty Williams, who was fired after Denver eliminated the Suns in the West semifinals by 25 points in Game 6 in Phoenix.”

“It is an honor to be named head coach of the Phoenix Suns,” said Vogel. “The Suns are a first-class organization, and I am grateful for Mat Ishbia and James Jones to have this opportunity. This is a highly talented team that is committed to winning, and I am excited to get to work.”

“We are excited to announce Frank as our new head coach and I look forward to partnering with him as we elevate our program,” said President of Basketball Operations and General Manager James Jones. “Frank is one of the best coaches in the game, a proven winner and has led some of the league’s toughest defenses over the last decade. He is the right leader and program builder to take our team to the next level.”

Vogel joins the Suns with 11 years of experience as an NBA head coach with the Indiana Pacers, Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers, winning an NBA championship with the Lakers in 2020. In three of his seasons as a head coach, Vogel’s team has led the league in defensive rating and he has five times guided his team to a top-three finish in defensive rating; since he entered the NBA head coaching ranks in 2010-11, no head coach has led the league or ranked in the top three in defense more often than Vogel.

Lakers fire head coach Frank Vogel

The Los Angeles Lakers have fired head coach Frank Vogel.

Vogel was the 27th head coach in franchise history. During his tenure, Vogel compiled a 127-98 (.564) record and led the Lakers to their 17th NBA championship during the 2019-20 season.

Per the Los Angeles Times, “the Lakers fired coach Frank Vogel on Monday just two years after he led the team to its 17th NBA championship and first since 2010. In the seasons since, Vogel’s teams have been decimated by injuries to LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers losing in the first round of the 2021 playoffs before missing the postseason in 2022. It culminated with a 49-loss season during which the Lakers were never more than three games over .500 and in which Vogel used 40 starting lineups.”

Per the Orange County Register, “LeBron James spoke to reporters Monday morning as Vogel’s status remained unconfirmed. He said he had not been told that Vogel had been fired: “I’ve seen the reports just like everybody else.”

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Frank both on and off the court,” said Rob Pelinka, the Lakers Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager. “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. This is an incredibly difficult decision to make, but one we feel is necessary at this point. All of us here wish Frank and his wonderful family all the best for the future.”

Lakers sign head coach Frank Vogel to contract extension

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed head coach Frank Vogel to a contract extension, it was announced today by Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka.

Vogel, the 27th head coach in Lakers franchise history and the 23rd in the Los Angeles era, has amassed a 94-49 regular season record in two seasons with the team. He has tallied a record of 18-9 in the postseason, while leading the franchise to it’s 17th NBA Championship in 2020.

In the shortened 71-game 2019-2020 season, Vogel’s team finished first in the conference with a 52-19 record, earning the franchise it’s 24th Pacific Division title. He earned Western Conference Coach of the Month honors for October/November after a franchise record-tying 17-2 start to the season. The team shot a league-leading 48.0 percent from the field and tallied 13 consecutive road victories, tied for the third-best road streak all-time.

Los Angeles went on to set an NBA record by defeating 18 consecutive conference opponents on the road. Vogel guided the team to a birth in the NBA Finals by winning the first three playoff series in five games apiece. In game six of the NBA Finals, the Lakers became the third team in the last 50 seasons to clinch an NBA title in a wire-to-wire win, leading the HEAT by as many as 36 points in the contest.

Vogel also led the Lakers to the league’s No. 1 ranked defense last season, which is the third time in Vogel’s career that he has led his team to the No. 1 ranking.

Lakers coach Frank Vogel reflects on the NBA bubble championship experience

Nothing has been normal for most of 2020. But in the Disney NBA bubble, basketball was played. The rules were the same. The court was the usual size. A full playoffs were played. And the Lakers won the championship.

Here’s the OC Register:

There are trinkets to remind him: the Ace of Spades champagne bottle which doused the Lakers’ locker room; the championship T-shirts and hats that were drenched; the Kobe Bryant pin and the Coaches for Racial Justice pin that were attached to his polo daily.

Frank Vogel also kept his thermometer and pulse oximeter – two pieces of equipment used daily in the NBA bubble that remind him why all of those games were played at Disney World in the first place.

“For something that had never been done before, it was done on a gold-standard level,” Vogel said recently. “To me, that was the most incredible thing about the bubble: getting that buy-in from 99 percent of the staff and players. There are things you come away with when you leave, like you felt there was a security blanket when you were there.”

While the championship-winning head coach of the Lakers hoped to have some safe travel in his offseason plans, some of the most rewarding moments since leaving the bubble have been mundane, everyday life. After 95 days away from his family, Vogel said one of the things he missed the most was driving his two daughters to soccer practice.

Up next in the NBA is a November 6 deadline for either the NBA or the Players Union to terminate the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, should either side wish to do that. And then the 2020 NBA draft, on Wednesday, November 18. Both dates had been rescheduled.

Pacers will not retain Frank Vogel as coach

Pacers will not retain Frank Vogel as head coach

Indiana Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird announced Thursday that Frank Vogel will not return as head coach of the Pacers. According to the Indianapolis Star, Vogel was at the end of his contract.

“I want to thank Frank for his time in Indiana,” said Bird. “We know he’ll be successful down the road and end up getting a job, but for us, I just feel it’s time to move in a different direction.”

Vogel stepped in as interim coach, Jan. 30, 2011, replacing Jim O’Brien, and was named head coach July 6, 2011. In five-plus seasons, Vogel compiled a 250-181 record, five NBA Playoff appearances, two Central Division championships and two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The search for a new coach will begin immediately.

According to the Indianapolis Star, “Vogel, 42, began his career as the ladder-climbing video coordinator who would do anything to get his foot into the prestigious door of big-time basketball. He climbed all the way to the head of the Pacers’ bench, where he held the position for five full seasons after replacing Jim O’Brien during the 2010-11 season. The Pacers made five postseason appearances under Vogel and developed a reputation as one of the best defensive teams in the NBA.”

More from the Star: “However, the Pacers were 31-30 in the playoffs and never averaged more than 97.6 points per game during a postseason run, which includes this season when the Pacers (45-37) finished seventh in the Eastern Conference. On April 18 in Game 5, the Pacers spoiled an opportunity to take a commanding lead in the first-round series with the Toronto Raptors by squandering a 13-point advantage in the fourth quarter. Though the Pacers evened the series the next game, they lost to the Raptors in Game 7 on the road.”