How many rings does Derek Fisher have? Achievements of former Sparks coach explored
Former LA Lakers player and LA Sparks coach Derek Fisher made a name for himself as a winner. He won five rings as a Laker and had a fairly decent coaching career with the Sparks. Unfortunately, he was unable to deliver a championship to the WNBA team.
Derek Fisher earned himself a lot of respect as a key rotation player with the Lakers. Having started out with the side, Fisher contributed a great amount to the Lakers early in his career.
Although he was an undersized guard, Fisher had immense value as a shooter, defender and playmaker. He became a core rotation piece in the Lakers' three-peat era from 2000-2002, where he won his first three rings.
Fisher eventually left the Lakers in 2004 to sign with the Golden State Warriors. Unfortunately, the two year stint didn't pan out as well. He did quite well for himself in Utah, but unfortunately, family strife led him to leave after just one season.
In 2007, he was back with the Purple and Gold. Although this didn't yield success right off the bat, Fisher played a huge role in helping the Lakers reach three consecutive NBA Finals. Of these three, the Lakers emerged victorious in two.
Following the 2010 season, he had short stints with several teams such as the Mavericks, the Rockets and the Thunder. He eventually retired in 2014 after a fairly successful 18 year career.
Fisher returned immediately after as head coach of the New York Knicks in 2014 and coached the franchise for two seasons. However, he was fired after a stretch of poor performances in 2016.
He returned to coaching in 2019 with the WNBA franchise, the LA Sparks. He coached the team to consecutive playoff appearances. Unfortunately, he failed to get them past the semifinals. He was eventually let go early in 2022 after a 5-7 start to the season.
Derek Fisher's NBA career
Derek Fisher had a fruitful NBA career where he recorded an average of 8.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. His best season was with the Golden State Warriors in 2005-06, where he notched an average of 13.3 points and 4.3 assists per game.
Fisher's crowning moment in the NBA was his famous game-winner against the San Antonio Spurs. Coming up with a clutch shot with 0.4 seconds left on the clock, Fisher secured an unlikely win for the Purple and Gold in the 2004 playoffs.
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