The Los Angeles Lakers hired a head coach on Friday and it is … Darvin Ham.
The Lakers have hired Darvin Ham as coach, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 28, 2022
Ham was the lead assistant of the Milwaukee Bucks, who won the NBA championship in 2021. Ham is getting a four-year contract and has a lot of work to do with a team that missed the playoffs.
He played eight seasons in the association with five different teams, including two stints with the Detroit Pistons.
He was an NBA champion as a player with Detroit in 2004.
As a coach, he has been an assistant with the Lakers, Hawks, and Bucks.
With the Lakers, Ham worked with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Dwight Howard in a player development role.
Ham has the backing of one important party in the organization, LeBron James:
So damn EXCITED!!!!!!!! Congrats and welcome Coach DHam!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 #LakeShow💜💛
— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 28, 2022
Darvin Ham and Lebron James combined for 43 points pic.twitter.com/CoXHyBy5mD
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 28, 2022
Ham, 48, replaces Frank Vogel, who led the team to the championship in 2020, the season NBA finished in the bubble due to COVID-19, but was 33-49 in 2021-22 and was fired.
Ham did have a big moment in his NBA career, once shattering a backboard.
Fun fact: New Lakers coach Darvin Ham once shattered a backboard pic.twitter.com/THrfsuzEft
— Overtime (@overtime) May 28, 2022