Search:
powered by
Lakers blog ~ The latest on L.A. Lakers news, by the Orange County Register Sports staff
« Lakers 116, Nuggets 99
Phil Jackson or Mike D’Antoni? »

Special night for Karl family

January 22nd, 2008, 2:41 pm · 1 Comment · posted by Curtis Zupke, Staff writer

By CURTIS ZUPKE

The Orange County Register

EL SEGUNDO - Lakers coach Phil Jackson acknowledged that his insertion of seldom-used guard Coby Karl in Monday’s game was more than just a move to empty his bench.

“Guys all wanted him to do well, perform,” Jackson said. “There was a lot of focus on that. We’re glad he was able to have an opportunity to shoot the ball. For Coby Karl to have an opportunity to play is always fun.”

Karl became the third player in NBA history to play against his father, in this case
Denver coach George Karl. Coby Karl was inserted with 3:19 to play and made a technical free throw in front of Denver’s bench. The two embraced at the end of the game, and the elder Karl was emotional afterward. Father and son are cancer survivors.

“I don’t have any words for it,” George Karl told reporters. “He’s a tremendous story for the game of basketball.”

Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy has coached against his son, Mike Jr. Then New Orleans Jazz coach Butch van Breda Kolff coached against son Jan in 1976.

Coby Karl downplayed it and said “It’s special playing in the NBA, period. Having dad watching you on the sideline and being up by 20 is really good. When the game started, I wasn’t even thinking about it — it was just another game.”

Reader comments: We want this to be a place where people discuss and debate ideas that foster stronger communities. We expect people to differ -- judgment and opinion are subjective -- and we encourage free speech and the exchange of ideas. But you are participating in a community that is intended for all of our users and we prohibit profanity, vulgarity, racial, sexual and homophobic remarks, threats, harassment and personal attacks. Here's the full User Agreement. Thank you for making this a safe place worth preserving and sharing. Share this: The icons below make it easy to share this post with others. First icon e-mails a link.
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google
  • Fark

Posted in: 2007-08 • Coby Karl • Practice notes |

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

One Response to “Special night for Karl family”

  1. BT Says:
    January 22nd, 2008 at 5:51 pm

    The father-son story is indeed great. The way the Lakers have gone 3-0 on the Nuggets and man-handled them in two of those games, I am starting to think Karl is rooting for the Lakers.

    I have usually disliked George Karl for his anti-Kobe sentiments, but I might get to like him if Lakers and Nuggets meet in the 1st round as 4th and 5th seed and we sweep them, with the help of Karl family.
ADVERTISEMENT