Born on June 21, 1973, in Wildwood Crest in New Jersey, Frank Vogel is a US basketball coach. He is currently the head of the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Frank Vogel – Early life
At Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa., Vogel was a Division III basketball team starter. In 1994, Frank Vogel moved to the University of Kentucky. Vogel was the student manager for the Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team, coached by Rick Pitino during the 1994-95 season.
Pitino resurrected the Kentucky junior team, and Vogel played for them the following season. His years in Kentucky helped him fall in love with coaching. He graduated in biology in 1998.
Frank Vogel – Professional career
Vogel began his NBA journey as a video coordinator for the Boston Celtics under head coach Rick Pitino. He held this position for five years before being promoted to assistant coach in the 2001-2002 season. After coaching with Boston, Vogel became an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers.
He left the 76ers to become an advanced scout for the Los Angeles Lakers from the 2005-2006 season and the Washington Wizards from next season. Vogel then became an assistant to the Indiana Pacers under Jim O’Brien.
Frank Vogel – Indiana Pacers
In January 2011, Vogel was appointed as interim head coach following O’Brien’s dismissal. As an interim coach, Vogel led the Pacers to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. In July that same year, Frank Vogel was officially named the Pacers’ head coach.
In April 2013, the Pacers won their first Central Division title since the 2003-2004 season. They finished the 2012-2013 season with a record of 49-32, reaching third place in the conference. After defeating the Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks in 6 games, the Pacers faced the Miami Heat in the conference final. Miami Heat beat them in that series.
The first game went to overtime and decided the course of the whole series because the Pacers had a big chance to start with the win. Vogel has been widely criticized for leaving Pacers’ leading defender Roy Hibbert on the bench in the last six minutes of the game. In a series where neither team has won two consecutive games, the Pacers have lost in seven games.
In January 2014, Vogel was named the Eastern Conference coach for the 2014 NBA All-Star Game. He guided the franchise to its best start in franchise history, in the end, the final balance of 56-26, with 1 place in the Eastern Conference. However, the Pacers lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals for the second year in a row.
Vogel signed a two-year contract extension with the Indiana Pacers until 2016. Paul George, the team’s leading scorer missed a big part of the season due to injury and the Pacers didn’t make the playoffs. The following year, Frank Vogel coached his team again to the playoffs with a retouched and rejuvenated roster, but they fell to the Toronto Raptors in seven games in the first round.
In May 2016, following the loss to the Raptors, Pacers president Larry Bird announced that Vogel would not return as a head coach for the next season because the team needs a ” fresh voice ” to lead players.
Frank Vogel – Orlando Magic
In May 2016, Vogel was named head coach of the Orlando Magic. He supervised a young, growing team. His team was never close to the Playoffs, and in April 2018, Vogel was fired by the Magic because of bad results.
Frank Vogel – Los Angeles Lakers
He became head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers at the start of the 2019-2020 season. He joined the California franchise with Jason Kidd as his leading assistant. Before signing coaching staff, the Lakers managed to sign LeBron James and Anthony Davis, making them one of the biggest favorites to win the championship.
He was named coach of the Team LeBron during the NBA All-Star Game 2020.
During the 2019-2020 season, his team finished first in the Western Conference. In the playoffs, they eliminated the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, the Houston Rockets in the conference semifinals, and the Denver Nuggets in the conference final, by 4-1 in each series. In the 2020 NBA Finals, he won his first NBA title as a coach, beating the Miami Heat 4-2.
This season, Los Angeles Lakers have a very deep roster but many injured players, and they can have problems reaching the playoffs one more time.
How much does Frank Vogel make a year?
Frank Vogel signed a three-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, including an annual average salary of $5.5 million per year.
Who is Frank Vogel’s wife?
Jenifer Vogel is the first lady of the Lakers. The couple has been married since 2002, and they are proud parents of 2 daughters. Their daughters’ names are Alexa Vogel and Arianna Vogel.
Who are the Lakers’ assistant coaches?
This season Los Angeles Lakers have signed David Fizdale and John Lucas III as assistant coaches on Head Coach Frank Vogel’s staff, joining assistant coaches Phil Handy, Mike Penberthy, Miles Simon, and Quinton Crawford. They are with coach Vogel from his first season.
