Los Angeles Lakers hire Luke Walton as coach

Luke Walton is returning to the Los Angeles Lakers as their coach.

The Lakers reached a contract agreement Friday with the 36-year-old former player, general manager Mitch Kupchak announced. Walton will become the 26th coach in franchise history.

Walton, an assistant with Golden State, will remain with the Warriors until the end of their season. Walton served as the interim coach at the start of this season and led the team to a 39-4 record, including an NBA-record 24-0 start, before coach Steve Kerr returned after recovering from back surgery.

"We're excited to bring Luke back to Los Angeles, where we feel he's going to start an outstanding coaching career," Kupchak said. "He's one of the brightest young coaching minds in the game and we feel fortunate that he'll be leading the on-court future of our team."

Walton is in his second season with the Warriors. After his 10-year NBA playing career ended, he served as an assistant at the University of Memphis in 2011 and as a player development coach for the Los Angeles D-Fenders in the NBA Development League in 2013-14 before joining the Warriors.

As a player, Walton averaged 4.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 564 regular-season games for the Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers. He played on the Lakers' NBA championship teams in 2009 and 2010.