The Los Angeles Lakers filled their head coaching vacancy Friday, signing former Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham to a four-year deal, multiple outlets reported.
Ham, 48, does not have any head coaching experience but has been an NBA assistant coach the past 11 seasons, including two seasons (2011-13) with the Lakers. He has been with the Bucks since 2018.
Ham now takes over a storied franchise that has won 17 NBA titles, 19 conference titles and 33 division titles.
The Lakers fired Frank Vogel on April 11 after he spent three seasons with the team, guiding them to the NBA title in 2020. Vogel finished 127-98 over his three seasons in Los Angeles, but the team went 33-49 this past season and missed the playoffs for the seventh time in nine seasons.
Ham takes over a talented roster that includes LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but the duo was slowed by multiple injuries for each last season. James played in 56 of the Lakers’ 82 games, while Davis played in 40.
The Lakers do not have a pick in next month’s NBA Draft. They moved their first-round pick to the New Orleans Pelicans in the deal to land Davis, while their second-round pick currently belongs to the San Antonio Spurs.
Ham played eight seasons in the NBA, making his debut with the Denver Nuggets in the 1996-97 season after he went undrafted out of Texas Tech. He averaged 2.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 417 career games (45 starts) for the Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards, Bucks, Atlanta Hawks and Detroit Pistons.
Ham’s best season came in the 1999-2000 with the Bucks when he averaged 5.1 points with 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 35 games (21 starts).
–Field Level Media
