The Los Angeles Lakers may not have made many personnel changes to their roster this summer, but they have made plenty of other personnel changes, as they have a brand new coaching staff.
JJ Redick, former NBA sharpshooter, broadcaster and podcaster, has replaced the deposed Darvin Ham, and he has brought a brand new staff with him. Nate McMillan and Scott Brooks have supplied his staff with lots of prior head coaching experience, and they also hired Ty Abbott to be their lead player development coach.
On Wednesday, they announced that they have also brought in Dr. Leroy Sims to be their director of player performance and health.
The Lakers have hired Dr. Leroy Sims as Director of Player Performance and Health.
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) August 21, 2024
Via Lakers.com:
“Dr. Sims will report to Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka and will oversee player medical care and the optimization of health and performance.
“Dr. Sims most recently served as Senior Vice President, Head of Medical Operations at the NBA where he developed and implemented innovative health and safety protocols, investigated medical technologies to optimize basketball experiences and conducted medical risk assessments. He is board-certified in Emergency Medicine and Primary Care Sports Medicine and was a key member of the team who executed the medical operations for the NBA Bubble in 2020. Dr. Sims served as team physician for USA Track and Field at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and provided direct medical support to USA Basketball at the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics. From 2011-14, he served as the medical director and team physician for the Golden State Warriors.”
Some Lakers fans have complained about the key injuries the team has suffered over the years and felt the organization has needed to upgrade its training and medical staff. On the other hand, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, both of whom have been injury-prone in recent seasons, remained healthy during the 2023-24 campaign.
James played in 71 games, his most since the 2017-18 season, while Davis appeared in 76 games, which was a career-high for him.