Friday 24 April 2020 08:15, UK
What is it like to be an NBA coach during the coronavirus pandemic?
For Luke Walton, it has meant home-schooling, dodging volleyballs and watching Netflix show 'Tiger King'.
"I have watched every episode of Tiger King. I had no idea what it was about, but it hooked me in for sure," Walton said.
The Sacramento Kings coach has been spending his days with his family in the Sacramento area. He said life in the past month has felt a little bit like Groundhog Day, but he has got plenty to keep him on his toes.
"We have young kids, so mornings are dedicated to home-schooling," Walton said. "I am teaching math to my son and he kept getting bored. What we did was we turned it into if he gets the question right, I let him from about 10 feet away throw a volleyball at me. He wakes up every morning and cannot wait to get to math because at the end he gets to throw a volleyball at his dad."
It's not all dodgeball and Netflix for Walton, though. He said the hiatus has given him the chance to watch a lot of game film from the season - something that he typically wouldn't have time to do until the summer - and he likes the way his team has grown.
"I was really pleased with how we were playing over the last 20-25 games," Walton continued. "We were really starting to play some consistent basketball. Defending and playing the way we really wanted to. Guys were really understanding each other and knowing, playing, and feeding off each other."
Walton stressed that even though his Kings were starting to make a playoff push, he doesn't believe an abbreviated season would feel like a missed opportunity for his team.
"Normally I would say yes, it would feel like that. But again, this is one of those rare circumstances in life where the safety of everyone involved is what we are thinking about."
The head coach is also proud of the way his team has stepped up and helped some of those affected by the pandemic, not only in Sacramento but around the world.
"None of these guys were asked to do it but are stepping up and I think it starts with Vivek [Ranadive] honestly, as the owner of our team. I know the Kings Foundation has donated a bunch of money to the city. And then you go down the line to different guys and it is not just in Sacramento because this isn't just a city thing, this is a global thing we are dealing with.
"We have international players and our GM [Vlade Divac] is from Serbia, we have players from Serbia. Serbia needs help too and these guys are stepping up in helping out there. Cory Joseph, being from Canada, is helping out there. Harrison [Barnes], De'Aaron [Fox], guys like that are stepping up in the city to help out. That's what it is about.
"I am really proud of our group as a whole for the way we have responded to this."
