Lakers hire former player Mark Madsen as coach

Lakers promote Madsen as coach

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) – It didn’t take long for the Los Angeles Lakers to promote Mark Madsen.

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The former Stanford player who was part of the Lakers’ NBA champion teams in 2001 and ’02 was hired as the team’s player development coach, along with Larry Lewis.

In May, Madsen was hired to coach the Los Angeles D-Fenders this season. Instead, he will help Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni, who says Madsen “has endless energy and is a workaholic.”

Madsen played nine seasons in the NBA and spent the last two years as a Stanford assistant

Lewis spent last season as an assistant with the D-Fenders and before that was head of player development for the team.

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