Former head coach Darvin Ham still holds plenty of bitterness toward the Los Angeles Lakers.
Ham — now an assistant coach with the Bucks — ripped L.A. before helping Milwaukee win its first NBA Cup on Tuesday night.
“To do as well as I did, I swear to God, anywhere else I’m probably looking at an extension for with what I did,” Ham told Andscape’s Marc J. Spears. “I’m not talking about feelings. I’m talking actual facts. They go from not making it to the playoffs to the final four in the NBA, the conference finals, And then you win the in-season tournament, navigate through all the injuries and win both of your play-in games to get to the playoffs.”
Ham became the Lakers HC in 2022 after they fired Frank Vogel. In two seasons with the team, he posted a solid 90-74 regular-season record.
However, he and small forward LeBron James struggled to jell throughout his tenure. He also couldn’t beat the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs. After Denver eliminated L.A. from the postseason for a second straight season in 2024, the team canned Ham.
Despite his shortcomings against Denver, Ham felt he overachieved when he guided the Lakers to the 2023 Western Conference Finals.
“People always talk about us losing to Denver, but they never talk about how we got to Denver,” Ham said. “We beat a kick-a– young squad in Memphis, and we beat Golden State.”
JJ Redick replaced Ham as Lakers HC in June. Thus far, he hasn’t fared much better. The Lakers (14-12) are 10th in the Western Conference.
Ham seems to have a point. The Lakers’ floundering suggests that he wasn’t the main problem. Instead of blaming its coach, L.A. should reevaluate whether it has built a championship-caliber roster.