A former Los Angeles Lakers player is returning to the senior staff of Langley’s Fraser Valley Bandits basketball team.
Robert Sacre will be back with the Bandits as a senior advisor to club president Dylan Kular. It will be Sacre’s second season with the club, after he was announced as assistant general manager in March of 2021.
In his new role, Sacre’s job scope has been broadened to give the former NBA and Team Canada centre the opportunity to provide insight on both basketball operations and business development, including game day experience, sponsorship activations and player wellness programs.
“The Bandits envision a roster that is dedicated on both sides of the ball and works together to put on a show for fans,” Sacre said in a statement.
He added that he looks forward to channeling his experience as a player with the Lakers and at Gonzaga University and his connections in the business community help the Bandits foster relationships with new players and organizations, in Canada and abroad.
“Rob has played in sold-out venues around the globe and continues to maintain relationships with coaches, as well as front office executives of leading international clubs,” said Kular.
Sacre’s new role will also allow him to work more on the business development side of the club’s operations.
Sacre’s insights are derived from a career that has saw the former 2006 AAA provincial champion (Handsworth Secondary) and MVP achieve success on the biggest basketball stages, in British Columbia, across North America and overseas.
He went to the NCAA March Madness tournament five times between 2008 and 2012, played alongside Kobe Bryant with the Lakers from 2012 to 2016, and was part of Canada’s senior men’s national team at both the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey and the 2015 FIBA Americas Championships in Mexico.
The final stop of Sacre’s playing career saw the North Vancouver native play for Sunrockers Shibuya from 2016-2019 in Japan’s B.League.
In his final season, Sacre scored 44 and 46 points in consecutive games.
Since retiring, Sacre completed his master’s degree in organizational leadership at Gonzaga and continues to be a contributing facet of the Bulldogs community, co-hosting the “Sac and Jack” podcast with fellow Gonzaga alumnus Jack Ferris.
Season tickets for the Fraser Valley basketball season at the LEC are on sale now at thebandits.ca/tickets.
The season opens on the road on Wednesday, May 25 at 4:30 p.m. against the Ottawa BlackJacks, and the team’s home debut will be on Saturday, June 4 at 2 p.m.
The Bandits announced their move to the LEC in 2021, from their previous home at the Abbotsford Centre.
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