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Darvin Ham was fired as Lakers head coach in May, days after the team’s season ended with a loss to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. (David Zalubowski / Associated Press)
It’s been seven months since the Lakers fired Darvin Ham, and he’s still surprised he’s no longer coaching the team.
Ham, who was 90-74 in two seasons in Los Angeles, took the Lakers to the Western Conference finals in his first year and back to the playoffs the following year, while guiding them to victory in the inaugural NBA Cup in-season tournament along the way.
And then he was let go in May, days after the Denver Nuggets eliminated the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.
“To do as well as I did, I swear to God, anywhere else I’m probably looking at an extension with what I did,” Ham told Andscape on Tuesday.
Now an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks, Ham improved to 14-0 in NBA Cup games later that night when the Bucks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder to win this year’s in-season tournament.
Read more: Plaschke: Sinking Lakers franchise must throw LeBron James and Anthony Davis overboard
Ham was hired by the Lakers as a first-time head coach in 2022, after 11 years as an assistant with the Lakers, Atlanta Hawks and Bucks. Despite everything the Lakers accomplished during Ham’s tenure, it’s difficult to imagine too many people in L.A. being surprised by his dismissal.
A number of fans had been calling for Ham’s ousting on social media for some time. And reports had surfaced that some of Ham’s lineup decisions and in-game adjustments were a source of frustration in the locker room.
Still, Ham told Andscape he was “extremely disappointed and perplexed” when he was fired after the Lakers were eliminated by the Nuggets in the postseason for the second straight season.
“I’m not talking about feelings. I’m talking actual facts,” Ham said. “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.”
Read more: Darvin…
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Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-12-19 20:25:00
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