Sports World Reacts to Dan Hurley’s Decision to Reject Lakers, Return to UConn

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

On Monday, news of Dan Hurley’s decision to stay at UConn and turn down the Los Angeles Lakers’ head coaching job rapidly spread across the sports world. 

Hurley rejected the Lakers’ six-year, $70 million offer, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, and will instead remain in Storrs to pursue a third straight national title with the Huskies.

The 51-year-old Hurley was tabbed as the Lakers’ top head coaching candidate by Wojnarowski last week, and his decision Monday ended rampant speculation over his coaching future. The back-to-back NCAA champion signed a six-year, $32.1 million contract with UConn in 2023 but could be in line for a raise soon.

As one might expect, Lakers fans reacted to the Hurley news with a wide range of emotions. The rest of the sports world chimed in, too.


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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.