Injured Lakers forward Luke Walton, Hot Rod Hundley to fill in on team’s broadcasts

Luke Walton gets temp gig on Lakers’ broadcasts

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Injured forward Luke Walton is trading his Los Angeles Lakers jersey for a seat behind the microphone.

Walton will fill in for radio color commentator Mychal Thompson when the Lakers play Friday against Minnesota and Saturday at Utah. Thompson will miss those games because of a death in his family, the team said Tuesday.

Television color commentator Stu Lantz will miss six Lakers’ games from Dec. 11-20 while his wife recovers from surgery. “Hot” Rod Hundley, a former Lakers color commentator alongside Chick Hearn and a former player on the team, will replace Lantz.

Walton has been out with a back injury after playing in the season’s first nine games. His father Bill was a longtime broadcaster and studio analyst with the Los Angeles Clippers, NBC and ESPN.