The Los Angeles Lakers basketball team is followed in HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” as they reach the height of their popularity in the 1980s. Based on actual events, the show covers the “Showtime” era of the Lakers under owner Jerry Buss, which included notable athletes like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. But the show also shines a light on a few of the period’s unsung heroes. In the second season, head coach Paul Westhead has trouble managing the locker room and recruits assistant Mike Thibault to help. In order to find out more about Thibault’s time with the Lakers and his current whereabouts, viewers must be interested. If so, this article will tell you everything you need to know.
Mike Thibault: Lakers Ex-Assistant Coach’s Current Pursuits
Where is Mike Thibault Now?
Mike Thibault was born Michael Francis Thibault on September 28, 1950 in St. Paul, Minnesota. In Lacey, Washington, he attended Saint Martin’s University. After earning his degree in 1979, Thibault joined the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team and began his career as an NBA Scout. Later, he rose to the position of Scouting Director before being hired as an assistant coach under Paul Westhead. The Lakers won the 1982 NBA Championship with Thibault serving as an assistant coach under previous coach Pat Riley after the latter was sacked in the early part of the 1981–82 season.
Thibault joined the Chicago Bulls as an assistant coach and scouting director after the 1981–1982 NBA season, leaving the Los Angeles Lakers behind. During his tenure, the Bulls acquired Charles Oakley and Michael Jordan, who went on to help the franchise win multiple NBA Championships. In 1986, Thibault left the Bulls and signed with the Calgary 88’s of the World Basketball League. For one season, he was the team’s head coach and general manager. The Omaha Racers of the Continental Basketball Association hired Thibault as their head coach and assistant manager in 1989. He was a member of the team for eight years and was a 1993 league champion.
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In the 1990s, Thibault worked as a scout and assistant coach for a number of NBA teams, including the Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, and Seattle SuperSonics. He also led the United States national team. He was chosen to lead the Connecticut Sun in the Women’s National Basketball Association in 2003. Under Thibault, the Suns made it to the WNBA Finals twice. Thibault was named WNBA Coach of the Year in 2006 and 2008. Additionally, he played for the US Basketball women’s team that captured the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic games.
Thibault left the Suns after the 2011–12 campaign to become the head coach and general manager of the Washington Mystics. Under his leadership, the Mystics won the WNBA Championship in 2019. Before announcing his retirement from coaching at the conclusion of the WNBA season in 2021–2022, Thibault played ten seasons with the Mystics. With 379 victories in 688 games, he currently owns the WNBA record for most victories by a head coach. In addition, he is only the second Coach in league history to have three career wins for Coach of the Year.
Nanci Thibault and Thibault are married, and they have two kids together. Eric Thibault, the father’s son, began his coaching career with the Washington Mystics as an assistant. Thibault took over as the Mystics’ head coach when Thibault retired. Carly Thibault, Thibault’s daughter, coaches basketball at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut. He continues to play a role in the Mystics’ everyday activities as their general manager, and he is said to live nearby Washington, D.C., with his family.