What Darvin Ham might have his hours counted on the bench of the Los Angeles Lakers could have been suspected, partly because he no longer seemed to be tolerated by LeBron James (his son a few days ago shared a meme on TikTok against the coach) and partly because the names of possible replacements, Tyronn Lue and JJ Redick in primis, had already begun to circulate. A little while ago the official news also came: the Lakers have exonerated Ham after 2 seasons on the bench in LA..
BREAKING: The Los Angeles Lakers dismissed coach Darvin Ham, sources tell ESPN. In two seasons, Ham was 90-74 with a Western Conference Finals berth, two Play-In victories and an In-Season title. Lakers lost in five games to Denver in opening-round. pic.twitter.com/33ck0Hgyu4
– Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 3, 2024
Looking at the spoils of these two seasons, one can say that Darvin Ham has at least brought home one title: this year’s In-Season Tournament, won in the finals against Indiana. Otherwise, the Lakers have made the Playoffs in both seasons, always going through the Play-in. Last year they had made it all the way to the Conference Finals, then losing 4-0 to Denver; this year their path was cut short against the Nuggets, but 4-1 in the first round.
Mike Budenholzer, Kenny Atkinson, JJ Redick and Tyronn Lue are the names of possible replacements made by Shams Charania. The latter two have a special relationship with LeBron: the former leads a podcast with King and has also been interviewed by Charlotte in recent weeks; the latter previously coached James in Cleveland winning the title in 2016.
As Adrian Wojnarowski pointed out, Ham is the first Lakers coach since 2011 to be fired despite reaching the Playoffs.
Milan, Italy. A graduate in Labor Management and Communication for Organizations from Catholic University, I founded BasketUniverso in 2011. Yes, I root for Orlando Magic and do my best not to hide it.
