What’s it like to be an NBA coach during the COVID-19 pandemic?
For Luke Walton, it’s meant home-schooling, dodging volleyballs, and yes, even episodes of Tiger King.
“I have watched every episode of Tiger King. I had no idea what it was about, but it hooked me in for sure,” Walton said.
The Sacramento Kings coach has been spending his days with his family in the Sacramento area. He said life in the past month has felt a little bit like Groundhog Day, but he’s got plenty to keep him on his toes.
“We have young kids, so mornings are dedicated to homeschooling,” Walton said. “I’m teaching math to my son and he kept getting bored. What we did was we turned it into if he gets the question right, I let him from about 10 feet away throw the volleyball at me. He wakes up every morning and cannot wait to get to math because at the end he gets to throw a volleyball at his dad.”
It’s not all dodgeball and Netflix for Walton, though. He said the hiatus has given him a chance to watch a lot of film from the season—something that he typically wouldn’t have time to do until the summer—and he likes the way his team has grown.
“I was really pleased with how we were playing over the last 20-25 games. You always try to get better as the season goes. We were really starting to play some consistent basketball.”
Walton stressed that even though his Kings were starting to make a playoff push, he doesn’t believe an abbreviated season would feel like a missed opportunity for his team.
“Normally, I would say yes, it would feel like that. But again, this is one of those rare circumstances in life where the safety of everyone involved is really what we’re thinking about.”
The head coach is also proud of the way his team has stepped up and helped some of those affected by the pandemic, not only in the Sacramento area but around the globe.
“None of these guys were asked to do it but are stepping up and I think it starts with Vivek [Ranadive] honestly, as the owner of our team. I know the Kings Foundation has donated a bunch of money to the city. And then you go down the line to different guys and it’s not just in Sacramento because this isn’t just a city thing, this a global thing we’re dealing with.
“We have international players and our GM [Vlade Divac] is from Serbia, we have players from Serbia. Serbia needs help too, and these guys are stepping up in helping out back there. Cory Joseph, being from Canada, is helping out there. Harrison [Barnes], De’Aaron [Fox], guys like that are stepping up within the city to help out. That’s what it’s about.
“I’m really proud of our group as a whole for the way that we’ve responded to this.”
