In season 2 of HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,” the NBA team tries to capitalise on the popularity of its 1980 NBA Championship victory as viewers are taken into the early years of the Los Angeles Lakers’ “Showtime” period. Under Jerry Buss, Pat Riley, and Jerry West, the Lakers changed their roster and playing style, and Kurt Rambis played a bigger role in the team’s success. Viewers must thus be interested to find out when the Lakers signed Rambis and where the former basketball player is now. Here is all the information you need to know regarding his time while playing for the Lakers in that situation.
When Did the Lakers Sign Kurt Rambis?
Darrell On February 25, 1958, Kurt Rambis was born in Terre Haute, Indiana. Later, his family relocated to Cupertino, California, where he later enrolled and joined the basketball team at Cupertino High School. Rambis began attending Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California, in 1976. He earned his diploma in 1980 and went on to become the college basketball team’s all-time leading scorer. Rambis was selected by the New York Knicks with the 58th overall pick in the 1980 NBA Draught, however he was ultimately released without playing. Under the alias Kyriakos Rambidis, he spent a season playing for AEK Athens in the Greek League.
After being let go by the Knicks in 1981, Rambis came back to the country but left once more without taking part in a single game. He was signed by the Los Angeles Lakers on September 13, 1981, during the NBA preseason for the 1981–82 season. Rambis enjoyed seven successful seasons with the LA Lakers, including his first NBA Championship in 1982. He accomplished the feat three times, in 1985, 1987, and 1988, and was a crucial part of Pat Riley’s “Showtime” period with the Lakers.
Rambis was mostly a team player, but the club’s success was greatly aided by his defensive and rebounding abilities. Because of his underdog status and distinctive appearance, which included a pair of signature thick black-rimmed spectacles, he also became a fan favourite among Lakers followers. Rambis was oddly given the moniker “Superman” due to his likeness to the fictional character Clark Kent from comic books.
Where is Kurt Rambis Now?
At the beginning of the 1988–89 NBA season, Kurt Rambis left the LA Lakers. One of the alleged factors that led to his departure from the Lakers was his decreased playing time. Between 1988 and 1993, Rambis played for the Charlotte Hornets, Phoenix Suns, and Sacramento Kings. He joined the Charlotte Hornets in 1988. He was reinstated by the Lakers prior to the 1993–1994 NBA season and played for his previous team for two more seasons before quitting basketball in 1995. Over the course of his 880-game NBA playing career, Rambis recorded 4,603 points, 4,961 rebounds, and 931 assists. He also won the NBA Championship four times in his playing career.
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During the 1994–1995 NBA season, Rambis began serving as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. He temporarily made a comeback as a player before starting the 1995–96 season as an assistant coach. Rambis remained in the job until 1999, when Del Harris was fired and Rambis was named Interim Head Coach. Under his leadership, the Lakers advanced to the 1999 Western Conference Semifinals but fell to the San Antonio Spurs. Rambis won back-to-back NBA Championships in 2000 and 2001 before being named the Lakers’ assistant general manager at the beginning of the following season. Beginning with the NBA season of 2002–2002, he went back to being an assistant coach.
Rambis left the Lakers in 2009 after being hired as the head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. He played for the team for two seasons before being sacked on July 12, 2011, due to subpar performances. For the 2013–14 season, Rambis joined the Lakers as an assistant coach. He was hired as the New York Knicks’ Assistant Coach by Head Coach Derek Fisher on July 7, 2014. Before both of them were sacked in 2018, Rambis served as the Knicks’ Interim Head Coach in 2016 and remained an Assistant Coach under Head Coach Jeff Hornacek.
In September 2018, Rambis returned to the Lakers as a Senior Basketball Advisor. With the Lakers, he won the 2020 NBA Championship, and he is still a Basketball Advisor today. The ex-basketball player is wed to the Lakers’ Executive Director of Special Projects, Linda Rambis. The Rambis family includes Jesse, Jordan, and Ali. Rambis reportedly resides in El Segundo, California, with his family.
