Bill Sharman Honored at Laker Game

The Los Angeles Lakers opened their season Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers with a moment of silence before the game for Bill Sharman, the Redondo Beach resident who coached the Lakers to their first title in Los Angeles in 1972.

Sharman, 87, died Friday.

Sharman coached the team for a total of five seasons, then served as the team's general manager beginning in 1976 and then president in 1982. For the past 23 years, he has been a "special consultant" for the team."

He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1976, and as a coach in 2004, making him one of only three people to be enshrined in both categories. John Wooden and Lenny Wilkins are the others.

"Bill Sharman was a great man, and I loved him dearly," Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. "From the time I signed with the team as a free agent in 1981 when Bill was general manager, he's been a mentor, a work collaborator and most importantly, a friend. He's meant a great deal to the success of the Lakers and to me personally, and he will be missed terribly."

Check out the gallery above for photos of Bill Sharman posted to various social media websites.

—City News Service.