The 2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers featured a big three of Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Steve Nash with hopes of giving their franchise star, Bryant, a chance to contend for another championship. However, the season got off to a rocky 1-4 start and L.A. opted to part ways with head coach Mike Brown.
Assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff took over as interim coach while Los Angeles conducted a coaching search, which ultimately resulted in the hiring of Mike D’Antoni. Reflecting on his first season with the Lakers, D’Antoni said that Steve Nash played a big factor in him landing with the franchise, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
Well, Steve was going to be good no matter what team he was on. I do think that the way we played and the talent surrounding him made him an MVP, but he was a great player no matter what.
One of the reasons why I took the Laker job — the biggest reason, other than I wanted to coach — was that Steve was going to be there. So I’m thinking that if Steve and I can get this and put this together, we could be really good. And I remember asking them before I signed, “I know Steve’s hurt, when’s he coming back?”
And they go, “Well, he’ll be back by Friday. And if we can get you to sign and you get in here, he’ll be almost ready to go right when you get here.” That kind of pushed me over the hill.
Well, Steve never really came back. And even when he did come back, he was about half himself. And so it was doomed from the start.
As D’Antoni said, things never truly clicked with this roster due to injuries and inconsistent play. Unfortunately for Nash, he broke his fibula in his left leg in the second game of the season, which caused him to miss 24 games.
Additionally, his back became an issue and ultimately the Lakers’ age with their stars prevented D’Antoni from contending. Despite eventually being inducted into the Hall of Fame, he could not find any form of stability or success as the Lakers coach before moving on and coaching elsewhere to finish his career.
Mike D’Antoni shares story behind photo with Kobe Bryant & Dwight Howard
One of the more memorable moments from that season was when a photo surfaced of Bryant and Howard jokingly squaring off in the training room with D’Antoni in between them. The former head coach recently shared the backstory behind it and who’s idea it was to take the picture.
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