Why Byron Scott Is the Perfect First Coach for Jordan Clarkson

An NBA rookie’s first head coach can make him or break him. For Jordan Clarkson of the Los Angeles Lakers, the hope is that Byron Scott will be the perfect teacher, counselor, disciplinarian and giver of confidence.

Clarkson—the team's No. 46 pick this season—is a combo guard with great speed, athleticism and ball-handling skills. The Lakers are currently in their second week of training camp, but the rookie has been working out for months at the team’s El Segundo practice facility.

In mid-September, Clarkson was interviewed by Mike Trudell for Lakers.com and said, “Coach is doing a great job, coming in the gym and working with me.”

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It shows a level of personal attention that not all head coaches offer. But for Scott, it’s part of a long-established pattern.

A three-time NBA champion as a shooting guard for the Showtime-era Lakers, Scott transitioned his success to the sidelines, taking the New Jersey Nets to the Finals twice, and earning Coach of the Year with the New Orleans Hornets. He is also a guy generally regarded as a player’s coach.

Developing a couple of high-profile rookies—Chris Paul and Kyrie Irving—helped Scott earn that reputation. 

The mentoring habit started earlier than that, however.

For his final season as a player, Scott was brought back by the Lakers in order to mentor a willful and precocious rookie named Kobe Bryant.

Eighteen years later, the two are still close and working together once again.

This same type of lasting relationship can now be formed between Scott and Clarkson—a player with a self-admitted chip on his shoulder. This summer at the team’s practice facility, the brand new rookie said, per Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News:

"

I feel like I was one of the better point guards in the draft, maybe the best. But falling out of the first round and being selected in the second round. It’s not about the number being drafted. It’s about the fit. That’s where I get my chip from.

"

That type of confidence is often evident when a player first comes into the league—before the challenges of learning new systems and a different level of competition, before injuries and a grueling schedule, before sitting on the bench and wondering why, and before getting chopped down to size and lost in the NBA shuffle.

In today’s game, coaches are under inordinate pressure to win and win now, riding a carousel that stops ever more frequently. They rarely have the luxury or job security to invest time in the kind of extensive development that will pay off at some point down the line.

Scott, however, does put in the extra effort. And, his teachings are more than X’s and O’s. As Paul was heading into his fourth season in the league, he spoke with Keith Peneguy of The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune about Scott: “Coach is my guy. He’s more than just my coach. He’s my friend, my mentor, somebody that I look up to and somebody I have the ultimate respect for.”

CP3 is arguably the top point guard in the NBA right now, and he learned from a coach who was once a guard who learned from Magic Johnson. These cyclical storylines are found time and again in sports.

Bryant, the aging superstar who learned as a rookie from Scott, is now taking on a mentorship role with younger players, including Clarkson, who has matched up with him in scrimmages throughout training camp.

The young guard spoke about the process recently, per Lakers.com, “I’m being a sponge right now, soaking as much information as I can. Shoot, it just keeps getting better.”

In turn, Bryant offered praise and encouragement during training camp, per Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times:

"

I like Jordan.  I think that was a steal of a pick. I'm surprised he slipped in the draft. Great pace, great feel for the game. He grasps concepts really well. He can shoot the deep ball. He has a really good floater and can get to the rim.

"

Scott was hired by the Lakers this summer as a familiar face from the past and tasked with the job of righting the ship after three disappointing seasons under two different head coaches: Mike Brown and Mike D’Antoni. The new coach inherited a roster made up of aging stars, former draft busts and unproven prospects.

His solution has been to go back to fundamental concepts, like defense and accountability, and adopting a championship mindset even if nobody else in their right mind would expect that kind of result from this team.

Clarkson’s game has a lot to do with a thirst for shooting, blow-by acceleration and an ability to get to the rim at will. During the Lakers’ five Summer League games in Las Vegas, the second-rounder set out to prove a point—outscoring all his teammates as well as nine of the top 10 picks to appear in action—the exception being Joel Embiid, who was recuperating from foot surgery.

In training camp, however, Scott is trying to teach his young charge about discipline and defensive principles, and about playing off the ball and taking open shots rather than contested ones.

There are points at which the lessons seem to leave an impression, with Clarkson telling Trudell, "I know I’m gonna have to come here in and play defense for sure. Coach Scott holds his hat on that, so that’s what I’m gonna try to bring it on the first day, on the defensive end. Everything else will come along if I do that."

But during the team’s first preseason game against the Denver Nuggets on October 6, the rookie reverted to his natural instincts and went into gunner mode, lofting up 13 shot attempts in 27 minutes and making only three of those. On a more positive note, he got to the line often, had five rebounds and scrambled after loose balls on the floor.

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

During the after-game media scrum, Scott was asked how Clarkson did. His response, via Lakers Nation video:

"

Not bad, not bad. I think he took some ill-advised shots, a couple of quick shots, so we’ve got to do a better job of understanding, what’s a good shot and what’s not. But, for his first game, on the defensive end, I think he did a decent job as well. I was happy with it.

"

Scott is a tough, old-school coach, but he’s also a patient one. Even when Clarkson was jacking up rim-clankers, he was allowed to remain on the floor. In time, he found his rhythm. The leash is longer during the preseason, of course, but that’s what training camp is supposed to be about—learning opportunities rather than knee-jerk punishments.

During the team’s second preseason game, against the Golden State Warriors on October 9, Clarkson again was a bit hyperkinetic before leaving the game due to a left calf strain. Per Lakers.com, the rook is expected to be out a minimum of a week. And so the NBA grind begins.

Tigers don’t generally change their stripes. Bryant, Paul and Irving all came into the league with certain ingrained instincts and styles. But they have also grown as players, and Scott deserves credit for his part in that.

This season, Clarkson will get a chance to play meaningful minutes and develop his game. He won’t be expected to save a franchise, nor will he be treated as an afterthought. He will learn the game of professional basketball the right way.

Thirty-one years after his own rookie season, an old guard will be guiding a new one. This could be a memorable journey for Clarkson, and it begins with a perfect first coach in Scott.