"It's an extraordinarily difficult decision to make, but we feel it's necessary at this point," Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a statement.

In office since 2019, Vogel, who had won the NBA championship title in his first season, was unable to qualify his team for the play-off phase this year.

The Lakers indeed ended the 2021-2022 campaign in a pitiful 11th place in the Western Conference, with a record of 33 wins for 49 losses, despite the presence in the workforce of stars LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, arrived last July from Washington.

But this "Big 3" was not spared from injuries and was rarely fielded together (only 21 matches).

Another weak point of the Lakers 2021-22, their defense, one of the most porous in the NBA, with 115.1 points conceded per game.

Speculation over Vogel's future intensified after the team's final regular-season game, won 146-141 on the Denver Nuggets court on Sunday, with sports outlet ESPN reporting that the coach would be fired.

The interested party had immediately swept away the rumours, adding however that he did not know the fate which would be reserved for him by the Lakers.

The ax therefore fell on Monday in the middle of the afternoon.

“All of us here wish Frank and his wonderful family all the best for the future,” said Pelinka, also vice president of basketball operations for the Purple and Gold franchise.

"Frank is a great coach and a good man. We will forever be grateful to him for the work he did in guiding us to the 2019-20 NBA title," he continued.

General manager Rob Pelinka and newly appointed Lakers coach Frank Vogel speak to reporters during media day in El Segundo, California on September 27, 2019 Harry How Getty/AFP/Archives

Megastar LeBron James, who said before the announcement that he was unaware of the team's decision regarding Vogel, hailed "a man completely dedicated to his sport, who prepared us every night with his assistants" to progress.

However, the mission proved tricky to hitch the wagon of the best teams to the great disappointment of "King James. "How can we be so good one night and so mediocre the next?

It was definitely the hardest part of the season," he said.

Vogel, who arrived in Los Angeles in 2019 after coaching Indiana (2011-16) and Orlando (2016-18), was under contract with the Lakers until 2022-23.

Under his reign, the franchise with the record 17 championship titles co-held with the Boston Celtics, played in the play-offs twice.

© 2022 AFP