Aces hire 2nd assistant with NBA coaching experience

Aces coach Becky Hammon has hired longtime coach Larry Lewis as an assistant, the team announced Friday.

Lewis, 55, most recently worked as an assistant coach for the UC Santa Barbara men’s basketball team, but has years of experience in the NBA and G League.

Lewis, on a phone call before the announcement, said his new role “feels like being a part of something that is very rare.”

Lewis joined the Gauchos in 2019 and parted ways with the team this May. He’d previously spent three years as a member of the Sacramento Kings’ staff, where he focused on player development.

Before his arrival in Sacramento, he spent three seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, also working as the director of player development and as an assistant coach.

“I’m thrilled to add coach Lewis to our group,” Hammon said in a statement. “To add the quality of depth in character and knowledge will be a huge value to our basketball system and culture we’ve built. We got ourselves a great one with Larry.”

Hammon added Lewis’ success in player development will be beneficial in the Aces’ pursuit of a third championship.

It’s a key part of his coaching experience, which includes two seasons as an assistant for the now-defunct G League team, the L.A. D-Fenders. With him on the sidelines, the D-Fenders recorded what was the best regular-season record in G-League history at the time in 2011-12 (38-12).

Lewis was also instrumental in the G-League club winning the Development Champion Award that year, given to the team that best developed talent through the lens of NBA call-ups and player assignments.

Lewis still works with NBA players in the offseason. He transitioned to coaching after a lengthy playing career that included stops in the U.S. and overseas.

Lewis’ hiring continues a pattern that Hammon began when she arrived in Las Vegas. Natalie Nakase and Tyler Marsh, who both left the Aces this offseason for WNBA head coaching jobs, had experience in the NBA and G League before being hired by Hammon.

Lewis will join former NBA and G League assistant Ty Ellis on Hammon’s staff. Ellis was hired Nov. 7.

‘Preparation’

Lewis has known Hammon since his NBA coaching days.

He was introduced to the then-San Antonio Spurs assistant after a game by his Kings colleague Jenny Boucek.

Hammon isn’t the only familiar face for Lewis in Las Vegas. Ellis and Lewis have remained close since they both played professionally in Spain.

Ellis is focused on improving the Aces’ defense. Lewis’ goal is to improve the way the team gets ready for games.

“We have to continue to get better,” Lewis said. “And from my experience, preparation is the most important part of any outcome, especially in basketball.”

Lewis, during his time with the Lakers, used to help Kobe Bryant get ready for games. Helping Bryant in his process is Lewis’ “proudest” coaching memory, he said.

Lewis’ hire was announced Friday, but he’s already been hard at work preparing for the Aces’ season.

“We’ve been meeting with Becky,” Lewis said. “Most people would look at this being the offseason, as if there’s nothing to do or no one’s working — we’re working very hard. We are preparing ourselves to prepare the ladies, because it takes a lot of due diligence. … We spend hours in the office, and we’ve been doing that since I got here. There’s a lot of consideration that we give to each player, who they are, and who we are as a team. We have to cater to that.”

Contact Callie Fin at cfin@reviewjournal.com. Follow @CallieJLaw on X.