NBA TV's Isiah Thomas likes the Lakers' reported hiring of Darvin Ham as coach because he will bring a defensive mentality to the team.
The Los Angeles Lakers have a new coach to guide their team, officially hiring Darvin Ham to replace Frank Vogel in that role, the team announced Friday.
“Our players and fans will immediately identify with Darvin’s no-nonsense and hard-working approach, which we feel will bring toughness and a competitive edge to all we do,” Lakers GM Rob Pelinka said in a statement released by the team.
“When you add that to Darvin’s sophisticated grasp of in-game strategy and deep knowledge of the game of basketball, we have the ideal coach for this next chapter in Lakers history. We could not be more honored and proud to name Darvin Ham as our new head coach.”
"Our players and fans will immediately identify with Darvin’s no-nonsense and hard-working approach, which we feel will bring toughness and a competitive edge to all we do." – Rob Pelinkahttps://t.co/aUZEkCf6Vk
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) June 3, 2022
The 48-year-old Ham is getting his first head coaching job as the 28th coach in Lakers history. He has been an assistant to Mike Budenholzer with the Milwaukee Bucks since 2018, and he played a significant role in their run to the 2021 NBA title.
Ham will be the successor to Frank Vogel, who was fired one day after the Lakers wrapped up one of the most disappointing seasons in NBA history by going 33-49 and missing the playoffs. He will be the 28th coach in franchise history, the 24th in the Los Angeles era and the seventh different coach of the team since Phil Jackson retired in 2012.
The Lakers flopped despite another impressive season from LeBron James, who welcomed his new coach on social media even before the move was publicly announced.
“So damn EXCITED!!!!!!!!” James tweeted. “Congrats and welcome Coach DHam!!”
So damn EXCITED!!!!!!!! Congrats and welcome Coach DHam!! #LakeShow
— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 28, 2022
Ham will be the 15th Black coach currently in the NBA, the most ever at one time.
Ham was a player development assistant coach with Kobe Bryant’s Lakers from 2011-13 on the staffs of head coaches Mike Brown and Mike D’Antoni. Ham then had a five-year stint on the Atlanta Hawks’ staff under Budenholzer, developing a reputation as an effective communicator with versatile tactical knowledge.
Budenholzer’s staffs with the Hawks also included Taylor Jenkins, Quin Snyder and Kenny Atkinson, who all became NBA head coaches.
Vogel led the Lakers to the franchise’s 17th title exactly 18 months before his firing. He failed to coax a winning season out of a veteran-laden roster led by James, oft-injured Anthony Davis and newcomer Russell Westbrook, who had a dismal first season with his hometown team. Westbrook is under contract for another season with the Lakers.
Ham played eight seasons in the NBA and won a championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004 before moving into coaching in 2008. The Michigan native played collegiately at Texas Tech.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
