He played the fifth most games in Lakers history, ranks seventh in steals, and only two guys named Lebron and Kobe have hit more three-pointers in purple and gold than Derek Fisher. The man fans called “D-Fish” was such a leader on FIVE NBA Title teams, that Kobe Bryant called him the best teammate he ever had. With a basketball resume like that, Fisher can do whatever he wants in the sport. So it might be surprising to hear where Derek Fisher is now: high school.
The Laker great just wrapped up his second season as the head coach of the Crespi High boys basketball team in Encino. After coaching previously in both the NBA and WNBA, Fisher was plotting his next move when his son and two stepsons began playing for Crespi in 2023. When Crespi’s coach left, the school approached Fisher. He wasn’t interested because his kids were on the team. “I’ve seen how the father-coach relationship can hurt the father-son relationship,” Fisher tells KTLA’s Steve Hartman. But after some thought, he took the gig. “I didn’t want to leave this space feeling I had more to give to others,” Fisher says, adding jokingly, “Instead of sitting in the stands, groaning and complaining, why not roll up my sleeves and get involved.”
Fisher is used to putting in work. He was barely being recruited out of high school and ended up playing at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, not exactly a hoops powerhouse. Fisher admits he was “never the best player on any team I ever played on,” and was usually the smallest guy on the court too. Yet he still reached the pinnacle of NBA success by outworking the competition. He’s trying to instill that same drive into his Crespi High players. “These are kids who are not ranked as the Top 100 recruits in the nation, and neither was I,” he says. “But if you can help someone access their highest levels of potential, maybe see something in themselves they haven’t seen yet, they might look at me and say if that guy who was born in Little Rock, played in Little Rock, can go on to do all the things he’s done, then why can’t I?”
So far, Fisher’s approach is working. Crespi made the playoffs for the second straight season, ranking in the top 15 in the entire CIF Southern Section. Fisher is also winning the right way, making sure his student-athletes uphold Crespi’s Catholic school standard of strong character both on and off the court. “Coach Fisher’s going to help young men become better men, and he’s going to teach you a lot of things,” says Crespi senior Peyton White, adding that playing for Fisher is, “Definitely an experience I’ve enjoyed.” Those sentiments are echoed by Crespi junior Malakai Perrantes, who says “Being able to learn from someone who’s been through everything I want to go through, whether it’s learning new drills or what it’s like in the NBA, is pretty cool.”
Fisher says he doesn’t share too many stories from his NBA days with his team. He isn’t even sure if all his Lakers experience gives his coaching lessons and advice any more weight with his players. “At times, they trust that information,” says Fisher, before adding with a smile, “But other times, I’m that guy who played a long time ago with gray in his beard.”
