Sacramento Kings Assistant Takes College Head Coaching Job

If there is any drawback to having great assistant coaches on the bench, it’s that they often move on to bigger and better things. On Friday, it was reported that Sacramento Kings assistant coach Luke Loucks had accepted the position of head coach of the Florida State Seminoles Men’s Basketball team.

Loucks will be replacing legendary coach Leonard Hamilton, who announced last month he would be stepping down at the end of the season, having coached FSU for 23 seasons.

NEWS: Sacramento Kings assistant/Florida State alum Luke Loucks is expected to be named the Seminoles' next head coach, @Warchant reports👀https://t.co/Z3HawRecVw pic.twitter.com/cE9TyxLRc5
— On3 (@On3sports) March 7, 2025

Loucks will be making a return to his alma mater. He played four years for the Seminoles from 2008-2012, including starting all 35 games as a senior and leading the team with 4.3 assists per game. Loucks earned a Master’s Degree in Sports Management from Florida State in 2012.

After spending several years playing basketball professionally abroad and in the NBA D-League (now called the G-League), Loucks transitioned to coaching and was hired by the Golden State Warriors as a film coordinator and player development intern ahead of the 2016-17 season. He was promoted to player development coach in 2019.

Loucks spent 2021-22 with the Phoenix Suns before being hired by the Kings as an Assistant Coach ahead of the 2022-23 season, joining then-head coach Mike Brown’s staff. Earlier this season, Mike Brown credited Loucks with the progress the team was showing defensively to start the season.

Moments ago, the Sacramento Kings congratulating assistant coach Luke Loucks for taking over his alma mater, accepting the head coaching job at Florida State. pic.twitter.com/gBHIx5UJTK
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) March 7, 2025

Loucks is now one of three Kings assistant coaches to move into a head coaching position in the last 12 months, joining Jordi Fernandez, who took over as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets last summer, and Doug Christie, who became Kings interim head coach earlier this season.

The Kings next play tonight against the San Antonio Spurs and former star De’Aaron Fox.

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