One-on-One with New Head Coach Tyler Lashbrook
Get to know the 10th Head Coach of the Maine Celtics
Chase Whitney /September 13, 2024
"Let's Get To Work."
The Maine Celtics recently announced Tyler Lashbrook as the 10th head coach in franchise history. A former assistant on Joe Mazzulla’s staff in Boston, Lashbrook began his NBA coaching career with the Philadelphia 76ers fresh out of college nearly a decade ago. The Kentucky native gets his first crack at a head coaching position with Maine this year and looks to build on the most successful season in team history.
We spoke with coach Lashbrook to get to know him a bit more as he settles into life as the head coach of the Maine Celtics.
Walk us through your journey as a basketball coach and the steps you’ve taken to get to where you are now as the 10th head coach of the Maine Celtics.
“Let’s start from square one. I played basketball in high school—didn’t play very well, but I did play. Went to college and knew that this was the path I wanted to take. My whole goal was to work in the NBA. I was trying to carve out a lane for myself, but didn’t really understand how at the time. I was coaching on the side, doing some writing, working on our women’s basketball scout team, working for the school paper, coaching kids camps and clinics—I did whatever I could to be around the game.
Right out of college, I got an internship in the Philadelphia 76ers’ basketball operations department. My internship grew into a position in the video room, stayed there for a few years, ended up making the jump to player development in 2018 and have been in player development ever since. Last year, I came to Joe’s [Mazzulla] staff and in the last few years in general, I’ve gathered more assistant coaching responsibilities in terms of game planning, preparation, on-court instruction and pregame film. Once this opportunity became available to me, I jumped at it because I knew this was the path I wanted to take and I’m super excited to take this next step.”
It seems like your background in player development is pretty well-established at this stage. Do you think that’ll translate to a head coaching role in the G League, where developing players and preparing them for the next level is a top priority?
“Working in player development has been the most exciting part of my career. To me, there’s nothing more rewarding than watching a player go from an Exhibit-10 to a Two-Way, a Two-Way to a standard NBA contract, then from the back end of the rotation to playing every night. Watching players take those steps, maximize their opportunities and be able to take care of themselves and their families as a result, there’s nothing that compares to it—going through the failures and successes and seeing everyone grow as basketball players and people. The most exciting thing about being the Maine head coach this year is being able to do that for an entire roster rather than the couple of guys an assistant coach works with on a day-to-day basis. I’m trying to mimic the environment in Boston and set the table for what we do up there, but also create different ways for players to get better within our system and acquire skills that will help them throughout their careers.”
How do you envision the Celtics’ Two-Way players—JD Davison, Drew Peterson, and Anton Watson—impacting the team this season?
“JD and Drew have a leg up on players in the G League given their experience. I’ll be leaning upon their leadership ability and how they can help show their teammates the ropes. Those guys [JD and Drew] are very good players in this league. Growing their voice as leaders gives them a level of confidence moving forward. For Anton, he’s really exciting as a player with his humility and the way he approaches the game. What will be most beneficial for him is the amount of reps he’s gonna get in different situations on both sides of the ball.”
How would you describe your head coaching style?
“I think some of that stuff I’ll learn about myself as we go along. The most important thing off the bat is echoing Joe’s message of what we want to do in Boston and making sure our programs are systematic and tied together in every way. For our Two-Ways and assignment players, making sure those things are emphasized with both organizations. I really think I’ll learn a lot about myself this year.”
The G League has changed a lot since you got started in coaching. What’s your view on how the league has evolved, especially in the last few years?
“When I started in the NBA in 2014, Two-Ways weren’t introduced yet. Then it started with two, and now there are three Two-Ways. It triggered an influx of talent into the league, and now it’s more rich than it’s ever been from a talent-based perspective. Some guys that may have had opportunities overseas might stay in the G League and fight for a spot in the NBA instead, which sort of sets the tone for everyone and gives players a better environment to develop. Trying to tie the two programs [NBA and G League teams] together is hugely important—making sure our terminology, system, and everything they’re learning with us can be applied in Boston. The “trick” of the G League is finding a balance between growing their game with a greater role in Maine while translating those skills to a smaller role in Boston. With us, players will have more responsibility with the ball than they have with Boston. It’s important to nail all the stuff that’ll get them playing time with the big club while understanding there’s a bit of newfound responsibility with the situation a player has in the G League, because they likely won’t have that in the NBA right away. There’s a ton of room for growth there.”
What are you most looking forward to about living in Maine for the first time?
“I came up during the summer and was amazed by the city in general, and how nice people were in Maine. Portland is such a cool city, I know the restaurant scene is incredible. I’m a guy that likes to hike and be outside in nature and from what I understand, some of the trails in that area are really high-level. Being close to the ocean and the mountains is really cool. I’m excited to live in Portland. It seems really cool and I’m excited for my family to come see it with me. My wife and I have already talked about going to Acadia National Park at some point.
One of my biggest mentors is [South Portland native and former Philadelphia 76ers head coach] Brett Brown. Since 2014, all I’ve heard in side conversation about Portland and the state of Maine is how beautiful it is and how important basketball is to the state. To come here and be a part of that is thrilling and I’m really grateful for the opportunity.”