Discipline has always been a defining part of Byron Scott’s coaching style, but even his own son wasn’t spared when it came to following the rules. On a recent episode of his Byron Scott’s Fastbreak podcast, the former NBA head coach told a wild story from his time leading the New Orleans Hornets, one that perfectly captured just how seriously he took punctuality and professionalism.
“When we were in New Orleans, I’m coaching CP. And CP, first of all, never got fined. But we also had a rule about the plane, you know, when we had to fly to other cities, we leave New Orleans at two o’clock. This particular day, my son worked for me, Thomas. You know, he worked in New Orleans as one of our video guys.”
“We’re all on the plane, and two o’clock comes, and Terry, our trainer, says, ‘Coach, Thomas is not here.’ And so I guess Thomas is driving up, parking, while we’re about to start closing the doors, right? So CP says, ‘Coach, coach, I see Thomas here, he comes.'”
“I said, ‘Two o’clock. Close the door. Let’s go. Two o’clock.’ Left his ass. Look, so we in the air, you know, I’m sitting right behind where all the players sit. You know, they in first class. I’m right in the seat right behind that, right?”
“And Chris Paul, I can hear him mumble, ‘S**t, he left his son. You don’t think he can leave our a**?’ I wanted him to be late. I wanted more of it just to make an example.”
For Scott, it wasn’t about being harsh, it was about setting a tone. During his tenure with the Hornets, he emphasized accountability, discipline, and structure, traits that helped the young team, led by Paul, David West, and Tyson Chandler, become one of the Western Conference’s most promising squads in the late 2000s.
Leaving his own son behind may sound extreme, but it worked. Players respected Scott’s consistency, knowing that if he wouldn’t bend the rules for family, he certainly wouldn’t for them.
It also turned a reminder that Byron Scott didn’t just preach accountability, he lived it.
