Los Angeles Lakers introduce Byron Scott as new head coach

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Byron Scott was officially introduced as the new head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

The introduction was more of a homecoming for Scott. He was a shooting guard in the Lakers' "Showtime" era of the 1980s, playing alongside Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Both men were present for Scott's introduction.

Scott said he understands the Lakers organization is all about championships, and he is being realistic. He said Tuesday morning that first thing's first: Defense.

"Offense is going to come and go, you're going to miss shots, you're going to make shots, but the one thing that you control every night is your effort on the defensive end," Scott said. "So you got to change their mindset. That's the first thing we got to do. First day of training camp is all about winning. It's nothing else. You don't think about losing, you think about winning."

Scott also played with Kobe Bryant in 1996 when Bryant was a rookie. He is very familiar with the Lakers superstar and is looking forward to coaching him.

Scott is taking over for Mike D'Antoni, who resigned April 30.

Since 1996, Scott has coached several teams including the New Jersey Nets, Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers and New Orleans Hornets.

Scott said the introduction marked the greatest day in his basketball career, though he only hoped Dr. Jerry Buss was there to celebrate with him.