New York Knicks President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has named Kurt Rambis associate head coach. The hiring reunites Rambis with Head Coach Derek Fisher, with whom he spent 10 seasons with at the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Together, Derek and I have started assembling a coaching staff to lead this team on and off the court,” Jackson said. “The three of us are similar in our philosophies and our approach to the game.”

Rambis has been a part of eight NBA Championship teams as either a player, assistant coach or advisor/assistant general manager, all with the Lakers. He comes to the Knicks bench as the franchise’s first-ever associate head coach after completing his third stint as an assistant coach with the Lakers last season. The Terre Haute, IN native was the head coach with the Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves over three seasons, including a Western Conference Semifinals appearance in 1999 with Los Angeles. He spent 13 seasons on the Lakers bench, including seven under Jackson.

“Kurt is exactly the type of person we want in our organization to help develop our culture of success,” Fisher said. “His vast knowledge and experience as a championship player and coach are traits that we embrace adding to our staff.”

Rambis returns to New York 34 years after the team originally drafted him in the third round (58th overall) of the 1980 NBA Draft out of Santa Clara University, although he never appeared in a game for the Knicks. In 14 seasons, he played in 880 regular season games, averaging 5.2 points and 5.6 rebounds for the Lakers, original Charlotte Hornets, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings. With the Lakers, Rambis was a member of four NBA Championship teams over a seven-year span (1982, 1985, 1987, 1988).