“I Wanted to Keep That Promise”: Los Angeles Lakers Legend Finally Gets His Bachelors Degree After 37 Years

Byron Scott has one of the most impressive coaching portfolios in the NBA. Even as a player, he was a 3 time NBA champ with the Showtime Los Angeles Lakers. The most recent addition to his portfolio though is a surprising one. On Sunday the 59-year-old announced that he has finally obtained his bachelor’s degree from Arizona State. This comes roughly 37 years after Scott first left the institute.

Read More: “I Never Showed Any Weakness”: How Allen Iverson Fought Racism and Jail Time to Become an NBA Great

Scott revealed that he had promised his mother a while back that he would get his degree. Scott also said: “She passed a few years ago, and that thought came back to my mind that I had promised to get my degree. … I wanted to keep that promise. I just said I have to do this.”

Byron played three seasons with the Arizona State Sun Devils, before being drafted 4th overall by the San Diego Clippers, who traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Byron’s run with the Los Angeles Lakers

Scott suited up for the Los Angeles Lakers alongside legends like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He played a key role in the 3 championship runs but was eclipsed by Magic Johnson’s incredible performances. In the 1987-’88 season, he led the NBA champion Lakers in scoring with 21.7 ppg and also led the league in 3 point FG% in 1984-85. After being traded in 1993, Scott returned to L.A. for his final season in 1996 and served as a mentor to a young Shaq and rookie Kobe Bryant.

Byron Scott as a coach

Byron Scott started his coaching career as an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings in 1997-98 season. Scott then started coaching the New Jersey Nets in 2000-01 season and led the Nets to their franchise-record of 52 wins in a season. Scott then went on to coach the New Orleans Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers before finally coaching his former teammate Kobe Bryant in 2014-15 and 2015-16.