LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles Lakers hired Mike D’Antoni late Sunday night, signing the former coach of the Suns and Knicks to replace Mike Brown.
The Lakers and D’Antoni’s agent, Warren LeGarie, confirmed the deal two days after the Lakers fired Brown five games into the season.
D’Antoni agreed to a three-year deal with a team option for a fourth season.
D’Antoni got the high-profile job running the 16-time NBA champions only after the club’s negotiations broke down with former Lakers coach Phil Jackson. The 11-time NBA champion coach met with Lakers owners Jerry and Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak on Saturday to discuss a return for a third stint on Los Angeles’ bench.
The Lakers’ top brass instead went with D’Antoni, who coached Lakers point guard Steve Nash during five seasons in Phoenix. Nash won two MVP awards while running D’Antoni’s signature up-tempo offense for the coach’s final four seasons, when they won at least 54 games each season and reached two Western Conference finals.
D’Antoni then coached New York for the past four seasons, resigning last March after a largely unsuccessful tenure featuring just one playoff appearance and no postseason victories. D’Antoni also coached the Denver Nuggets during the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season.
Nash and Kobe Bryant both have expressed enthusiasm about the prospect of playing for D’Antoni, although Bryant also campaigned eagerly for Jackson. Bryant idolized D’Antoni while growing up in Italy, where D’Antoni was a star player for Olimpia Milano in the Italian pro league.
D’Antoni underwent knee replacement surgery earlier this month and could be limited in his mobility and travel for the first few weeks of his tenure in Los Angeles, although the Lakers likely won’t announce specifics until later in the week.
Jackson won five titles and reached seven NBA finals during two stints totaling 11 seasons with Los Angeles. He walked away from the club 18 months ago after a second-round playoff sweep by Dallas, and Brown led Los Angeles to a 41-25 mark and another second-round playoff defeat last summer.
The Lakers traded for Nash and Dwight Howard, setting up a season of enormous expectations for Brown — but the Lakers struggled to learn his new, Princeton-influenced offense while playing mediocre defense.
After the Lakers stumbled out of the gate while Howard and Bryant missed preseason games to preserve their health, Nash incurred a small fracture in his leg during the Lakers’ second regular-season game, keeping him out of the lineup for their past five games and for at least another week.
The Lakers reached a deal with D’Antoni several hours after they beat Sacramento 103-90 for their second straight win under interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff.
The Lakers have improved to 3-4 after following up their winless preseason with four losses in their first five regular-season games, the club’s worst start since 1993.
D’Antoni’s reputation as an innovative coach wasn’t helped by his tenure in New York, although he took over a moribund franchise and eventually returned it to respectability.
Despite his reputation for offensive acumen, D’Antoni’s NBA teams typically have played fairly solid defense, statistically speaking — and they never had the imposing Howard or defensive stopper Metta World Peace in their lineups.
Nash had his best NBA seasons as the versatile quarterback of the Suns’ offense under D’Antoni, and point guard Jeremy Lin became a star on the Knicks last season while filling much the same role. D’Antoni resigned late last season following a six-game losing streak, surprising many observers.
The Lakers’ next game is Tuesday night against San Antonio. Phoenix visits Staples Center on Friday.
Lakers hire Mike D’Antoni as new coach
Lakers hire Mike D’Antoni as new coach
Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia unveils 2026 International Jockeys’ Challenge
- Japan Cup hero Mickael Barzalona and defending champion Mohammed Aldaham among 14-strong lineup
RIYADH: Japan Cup hero Mickael Barzalona, newly appointed Irish Champion Dylan Browne McMonagle and last year’s winner Mohammed Aldaham have been unveiled by the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia as part of the 2026 Saudi Cup International Jockeys’ Challenge at King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Feb. 13.
Prince Bandar bin Khaled Al-Faisal, chairman of JCSA, said: “The Saudi Cup International Jockeys’ Challenge has always been a favorite part of Saudi Cup weekend for me.
“It is the only challenge in the world that includes equal numbers of men and women competing as individuals, and it has been gratifying to see so many winners from different parts of the world since its inception in 2020,” he said.
The seven women and seven men who will compete in the four-race series over the big weekend includes global representation and features leading UK riders Saffie Osborne and Hollie Doye, Marie Velon from France, Australia’s Angela Jones and the American-based Frenchman Flavien Prat and the US’s Forest Boyce.
Two of the men are locally based jockeys, with Panamanian-born Luis Morales, who has more than 600 winners to his name in Saudi Arabia alone, joining defending champion Aldaham in the lineup after he created history in 2025 by becoming the first Saudi jockey to triumph.
Barzalona will be aiming to carry through his remarkable run of form from 2025, a year in which he won the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, King George VI Stakes, England’s Champion Stakes and the Japan Cup on Calandgan (IRE) in addition to notable strikes in the French 1000 Guineas and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Joining Barzalona is 22-year-old Northern Irishman Dylan Browne McMonagle, who is a multiple Group 1 winner and was crowned Irish Champion Jockey last November.
Like Barzalona and Browne McMonagle, Flavien Prat will be making his first appearance in the IJC having established himself as a dominate force in American racing, where he won the 2019 Kentucky Derby aboard Country House and has multiple Breeders’ Cup wins to his name, including in the 2022 Classic on the brilliant and unbeaten Flightline (US).
Completing the men’s team is Keita Tosaki, one of Japan’s leading riders with more than 4,000 wins, with strikes on champions such as Real Impact (JPN) and Danon Decile (JPN), and rising British rider Billy Loughnane.
At the age of 17, Loughnane was crowned Champion Apprentice and just two years on is a Group 1 winner; on Dec. 31, 2025, he made modern history with the most number of wins in a calendar year with 223 victories.
Both Hollie Doyle and Saffie Osborne are previous participants, and Doyle will be making her third appearance, having starred in 2025 and 2021 when she also won the Neom Turf Cup for Irish mastermind Willie Mullins aboard True Self (IRE).
The Classic-winning rider has partnered multiple Group 1 winners and heads to Riyadh after a successful stint in Hong Kong through the latter part of 2025.
Osborne makes her return after appearing in 2024 and has broken new ground since then by partnering Heart of Honor (GB) in the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes in America last year, and the duo have since dazzled with wins at Meydan in Dubai.
American Forest Boyce is a multiple graded stakes-winning jockey, one of Maryland’s most accomplished riders, and makes her first appearance in Riyadh.
With more than 1,000 victories and $40 million in earnings, Boyce will be joined by Australia’s Angela Jones, who has quickly risen through the ranks to become a consistent force in Queensland racing.
Since transitioning to senior status in 2023, Jones has recorded more than 450 career wins from more than 2,800 rides, and has partnered regularly with leading trainer Tony Gollan, forming one of Queensland’s most successful jockey-trainer combinations.
European women are strongly represented, with six‑time winner of the Cravache d’Or Feminine Marie Velon returning, along with debutants Nina Baltromei and Frida Valle‑Skar.
Baltromei is a German jockey who made history in 2025 as the first woman to win the Deutsches Derby.
Valle‑Skar is of Swedish origin and has built a strong career riding in France and internationally. She made her first race ride in 2017, rode her first winner the following year and has since amassed more than 230 wins from more than 2,800 rides.
Last year she also achieved an historic breakthrough when she partnered Matilda to victory in the German 2000 Guineas at Cologne. It was the first time in 54 years that a filly had won the race, and Valle‑Skar became the first female jockey to ride the winner of the Classic.
And Velon has more than 600 career victories, including major international successes. Her partnership with Iresine (FR) has been particularly notable, delivering victories in the Prix Foy (2023) and the Group 1 Prix Royal-Oak (2022).
“The JCSA is proud to promote this event with its equal opportunities for men and women, and we are glad to echo this key message shared by Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 — which is a guiding light for all sport in Saudi Arabia,” Prince Bandar said.
“Last year we celebrated the first victory by a Saudi jockey and Mohammed Aldaham is back this year to defend his title, may he have the best of luck,” he said. “Jockeys are tremendous and inspiring athletes and I look forward to personally welcoming them all to King Abdulaziz Racecourse and the Saudi Cup.
“The best of luck to all participants,” he added.
