Santa Cruz Warriors Name Lainn Wilson As Head Coach

SANTA CRUZ, CA – The Santa Cruz Warriors, the NBA G League affiliate of the Golden State Warriors, have named Lainn Wilson as their next head coach, it was announced today. Nicholas Kerr, who has served as the head coach of the Santa Cruz Warriors for the past two seasons (2023-25), has been called up to rejoin the Golden State Warriors staff. The entire Santa Cruz Warriors coaching staff will be announced at a later date.

Wilson, who was a member of the Golden State Warriors’ 2022 NBA Championship basketball operations staff, is entering his fifth season with the Warriors organization after spending the previous four seasons as Golden State’s head video coordinator (2021-25). Prior to Golden State, Wilson spent two seasons serving as an assistant video coordinator for the Philadelphia 76ers. He has three years of NBA G League experience with the Grand Rapids Drive, the former NBA G League affiliate of the Detroit Pistons, where he served as an assistant coach for his last two seasons. Wilson began his coaching career at the University of Georgia in 2010, spending six seasons with the men’s basketball team as a student manager (2010-14) and graduate assistant (2014-16) under Head Coach Mark Fox. 

Originally born in Newport News, Virginia, Wilson grew up in Augusta, Georgia, and graduated from the University of Georgia with an undergraduate degree in finance and a master’s degree in sports management and policy.

“We’re really excited for Lainn and the opportunity he’ll have to coach the Santa Cruz Warriors,” said Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr. “We’ve had a successful history of providing young coaches a chance to develop and gain valuable experience in this role in Santa Cruz, and we expect that Lainn will take full advantage of it. He’s a passionate, detail-oriented, and hard-working coach who has a tremendously bright future in the game. I’m confident he’ll do great during this next step on his journey, and we’re thrilled for him.”

Kerr returns to the Golden State coaching staff with a combined NBA G League record of 59-44—the second most wins by a head coach in Santa Cruz Warriors history, only trailing Casey Hill (125-92). After finishing both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 NBA G League regular seasons with a record of 20-14, Kerr became the third head coach in franchise history to achieve consecutive playoff appearances. Over the past two seasons under Coach Kerr, Santa Cruz saw 10 players receive NBA Call-Ups—nine of those 10 players were called up to the Golden State Warriors. Kerr becomes the fourth consecutive Santa Cruz Warriors head coach to be called up to the Golden State staff, joining Seth Cooper, Kris Weems, and Aaron Miles.

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