Bob Beyer ’84 named assistant coach for Los Angeles Lakers

A native of LeRoy, NY, Beyer earned a bachelor’s degree in history (minors in coaching, writing, secondary education) from Alfred University in 1984 and went on to earn a master's degree in curriculum planning and development from the University of Albany in 1989.

Beyer has coached more than 35 years in both the collegiate and professional ranks, and it began while he was still an undergraduate at Alfred University. He played three seasons for the Saxons’ men’s basketball team before his playing career was ended by injury. As a senior, he served as a student assistant for the Saxons.

Los Angeles Laker press release on coaching staff appointments

Beyer served several as an assistant at the collegiate level for 18 years before getting his first professional job. He coached four years (1985-89) at Albany, while pursuing his graduate degree. He coached as an assistant another four seasons at Siena College (1989-93) before serving one year (1993-94) at the University of Wisconsin. Beyer returned to Siena for three years (1994-97) and was at Northwestern University for three more (1997-2000) before he was hired to the staff of legendary coach Bobby Knight at Texas Tech, where he served as an assistant from 2001-03.

In 2003, Beyer got his first assistant position in the NBA, with the Toronto Raptors. After a season in Toronto, he returned briefly to the collegiate ranks, spending two years (2005-07) at the University of Dayton. In 2007, he was appointed an assistant with the Orlando Magic, where he coached for five years (2007-2012). Beyer spent a year on coaching staffs of the Golden State Warriors (2012-13) and Charlotte Bobcats (2013-14); four years (2014-18) with the Detroit Pistons; a season each with the Oklahoma City Thunder (2018-19), Sacramento Kings (2019-20), and New Orleans Pelicans (2020-21).

Beyer returned to Charlotte, where he served two years as an assistant for the Pelicans (2022-24) before joining the Lakers staff over the summer.