Frank Vogel Fired: Why Did Los Angeles Lakers Fire Frank Vogel As Head Coach?

Frank Vogel’s time in Los Angeles has reportedly come to an end, after disappointing season’s ends before playoff.

Vogel’s reportedly final game with the Lakers was a victory as Los Angeles defeated the Denver Nuggets 146-141 in overtime on Sunday. In his three seasons in Los Angeles, Vogel finished with a record of 126-98 and included an NBA championship in 2019-20.

The Lakers finished the 2021-22 season with a 33-49 record and did not qualify for the postseason.

Why Did Los Angeles Lakers Fire Frank Vogel As Head Coach?
After a busy off-season bringing Russell Westbrook to Los Angeles to form a Big 3 alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers had sky-high expectations this season after bowing out in the first round of the postseason in 2020-21.

Rumblings of Vogel’s safety as head coach had swirled throughout the season, however, in December, Lakers President and Governor Jeanie Buss said the organization wouldn’t be looking to make any drastic changes until the entire roster was healthy.

As the Lakers’ struggles continued, Vogel’s job security again came into question in January, following a 133-96 loss to the Denver Nuggets, with The Athletic’s Bill Oram and Sam Amick, reporting that Vogel was being evaluated on a game-to-game basis, adding that he “narrowly avoided” being fired after the loss.

Despite LeBron James playing at near career-best form, Anthony Davis’ injury, compounded with Russell Westbrook’s ill fit with the team, along with a host of other injury absences and COVID-19 health and safety protocol, meant the Lakers couldn’t ever find any real consistency this season, ranking 21st in defensive rating and 22nd in offense. They finished the season 33-49 and did not make the NBA Play-in Tournament.