The Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason got off to a great start when they announced the hiring of Darvin Ham to become the franchise’s 28th head coach.
Ham was the perfect fit given his championship experience as a player and assistant coach, and now comes to a Lakers organization desperate to win again. During his introductory press conference, Ham spoke at length on a multitude of topics but one major note was Anthony Davis. Ham called Davis the ‘key’ to the team’s success, and it is hard to argue with him because when healthy the star big man is a legitimate game-changer on both ends of the floor.
Ham’s been well-received by the fans, and it sounds like Davis is there with them as he said he was excited about his new head coach, as he said on a recent Twitch stream:
“I’m excited about Darvin, about Coach Ham,” Davis said. “I’m excited about Coach Ham, I think he’s going to help us out. What he brings, his mindset, we’re going to see.”
It was easy to see why the Lakers coaching committee was enamored with Ham after hearing him talk about things like sacrifice, toughness and accountability. That kind of mindset is exactly what Davis and the organization as a whole need.
Ham has worked with several stars over the course of his coaching career, so he should be able to find ways to better utilize Davis and get him back to the superstar level L.A. is accustomed to seeing.
After a terrible 2021-22 campaign, things finally feel like they are on the upswing for the Purple and Gold with Ham now at the helm. Getting the buy-in from his stars this early in the process is a great sign, but now the next challenge will be building out a coaching staff and roster that can push the team back to the mountaintop.
Darvin Ham discusses homecoming and Lakers’ ceiling
Ham faces more pressure as a first-time head coach than normal given the Lakers’ tradition of winning. However, he did not sound fazed by the challenge and instead spoke about how grateful he was to return to the place that gave him his start.
He also emphasized he would not put a ceiling on the team, instead saying that they will go as far as their daily preparation takes them.
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