The Mike D’Antoni era officially began on Thursday for the Los Angeles Lakers and his message was clear: The players are going to have fun in his system and have the freedom to play to their strengths.

“It’s basketball,” D’Antoni said during his introductory press conference. “I’ve coached Steve [Nash]. I know how much fun that is so I know how much fun I’m going to have. I’ve coached Kobe [Bryant] and Dwight [Howard]. I know the possibilities we’re going to have. It’s endless. There’s always we have to win. If you come close it’s not good enough. That’s almost in every organization. Your expectations are something and most of the time you don’t want to be in the situation where your expectations are too high and you can’t get up there, but that’s not the case here. Our expectation is to win a championship, we have the team and players to do that. We know it takes staying healthy, this and that. But, boy is it fun trying. I can’t think of a better group, city and fan base to try and get it done.”

via Yannis Koutroupis of HOOPSWORLD