Eric Musselman’s basketball career has come full circle back to Southern
California.

Musselman is the new coach of the Los Angeles D-Fenders, the D-League
affiliate of the Los Angeles Lakers.

The team made the announcement Thursday. Musselman, former Golden State
Warriors and Sacramento Kings head coach, has now worked in some capacity for
every NBA franchise in California. He began in the Clippers organization.
Musselman is currently coaching the Venezuelan national team and using crutches
for an Achilles injury.

“I remember growing up in San Diego and going to sleep listening to Chick
Hearn do Laker games on the radio and was a die-hard Lakers fan as a young
kid,” Musselman said in an email from Argentina, where his team was set to play
Cuba on Thursday night. “How many San Diego kids get a chance to work for four
pro organizations in California? I feel blessed to be able to work in the state
we as a family love so much.”

The D-Fenders are returning to the D-League this season following a one-year
hiatus. Musselman spent last season with the Reno Bighorns—affiliate of the
Warriors and Kings—and guided them to the D-League playoffs after they won the
Western Conference.

“He has vast experiences in both the NBA and NBA Development League and
will be a great addition to our franchise,” team President Joey Buss said in a
statement. “I look forward to working with Eric and having a successful
season.”

The 46-year-old Musselman has a proven track record in the game’s minor
leagues.

Musselman went 270-122 during seven years as head coach of the Continental
Basketball Association’s Florida Beach Dogs. From 1990 through 1997, Musselman
had 24 players called up to the NBA, the highest number in the league during
that span.

“I can’t wait to get started,” Musselman said.

The Kings fired Musselman in April 2007 after a 33-49 season. He led the
Warriors from 2002-04. Golden State fired him after the franchise missed the
playoffs for the 10th straight year in his second season at the helm. Golden
State went 37-45 in his final season and he led the Warriors to 38 victories in
his first year.

After being dismissed by the Warriors, Musselman spent two seasons with the
Memphis Grizzlies as an assistant under Mike Fratello.

His first NBA coaching experience came with the Minnesota Timberwolves under
his late father, Bill, in 1990-91. Musselman also worked as an assistant coach
for the Atlanta Hawks under Lon Kruger and as an assistant for the Orlando Magic
under Chuck Daly and Doc Rivers.

Musselman played for the University of San Diego, helping the team reach the
NCAA tournament two times.

Despite being smack dab in the middle of a lockout the NBA released it’s preseason schedule on Thursday, with both the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings playing some intriguing match-ups before the regular season. Now all we need is a season to actually happen…make the jump to learn more.

The Warriors start their preseason campaign on Sunday, October 9th against the Los Angeles Lakers at the Save Mart Center in Fresno. Both team’s will be showcasing their new head coaches in Mark Jackson and Mike Brown, with Jackson making his NBA coaching debut. Always is a fun time with these two teams. 

The Kings start their preseason at home on Tuesday, October 11th against the San Antonio Spurs. The Kings fan base has been completely reenergized after fighting to keep their team in Sacramento, hopefully filling Power Band Pavillion to the rafters as much as possible, even during the preseason, to show that they want them there for good. 

The W’s and Kings will play each other on October 19 at Power Band Pavilion, one of three home games for Sacramento in the preseason. Golden State will only have two preseason matches at Oracle Arena, with their last one coming on October 27 versus the Blazers.

Warriors Schedule

Kings Schedule

For more on the Kings, check out Sactown Royalty. For more on the Warriors, head over to Golden State of Mind.