Last summer, the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to make Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham the team’s new head coach. With the Lakers in win-now mode with LeBron James and Anthony Davis leading the way, the idea of a rookie head coach was seen as something of a risk.
But the Lakers felt Ham, as a former player and with years of experience as an assistant, was the right man for the job and while there were some struggles along the way, by season’s end Ham was pushing this team deep in the playoffs.
One of Ham’s first big decisions had to do with Russell Westbrook as it was obvious that the trio of Westbrook, Anthony Davis and LeBron James simply didn’t click. Ham would ultimately make the decision to bring Westbrook off the bench and was able to get some good performances from the point guard who thrived in his new role and even earned some early Sixth Man of the Year buzz.
But despite doing his best to get the most out of Westbrook, the Lakers would start the season with a disappointing 2-10 record. And injuries up and down the roster, particularly to LeBron and Davis, made it even tougher for Ham to figure out the best rotation for his team.
Things turned around when the Lakers made their trade deadline moves and Ham was able to immediately get the team’s new players to buy in to what he was preaching. Numerous Lakers would praise Ham for staying positive throughout the rough stretches and he could be seen regularly complimenting and building up his players when they were struggling on the court.
By the time the playoffs rolled around, Ham had the Lakers clicking on all cylinders and he and his coaching staff would make numerous lineup and rotation changes throughout the playoffs, giving the Lakers the necessary advantages to advance to the Western Conference Finals.
2022-23 Highlight
One moment that will surely never be forgotten by Ham was picking up his first ever win as a head coach back on Oct. 30. The team would celebrate with him in the locker room as it was a well-deserved moment of recognition for the long-time assistant.
Perhaps the biggest move he would make during the season was inserting Austin Reaves into the starting lineup. Reaves was already one of the team’s most reliable players and would regularly finish games. But following the trade deadline, his game was shining even better and Ham’s decision to put him with the starters while pretty obvious at that point, was a move that needed to be made.
2023-24 Highlight
Ham still has three years remaining on his contract with the Lakers and the pressure on him will only continue to grow after the team’s playoff run last year. The Lakers will once again enter next season with championship aspirations and the front office will use this offseason in order to further build the roster that Ham desires with players who will thrive in his style.
There are certainly still things for Ham to work on as his rotation choices often left a lot to be desired. But with a year under his belt and more time to instill that culture within this Lakers team, a lot will be expected of Ham to help raise the franchise’s 18th NBA Championship banner.
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