It can’t be easy being the head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. An immense amount of pressure to win is placed on the franchise’s coach on a daily basis. That is even more true when they have LeBron James on the roster. Darvin Ham surely knows this firsthand.
About a month ago, the. 50-year-old Ham was unceremoniously let go by the Lakers after two seasons as their head coach. With the amount of stress that he likely encountered from a fanbase and media members who wanted to see him let go, it shouldn’t surprise anyone if he wants a break from the NBA. That appears to be the case after Ham reportedly has turned down a role as an assistant coach.
Darvin Ham Turns Down Assistant Coach Role After Lakers Firing
Ham Says No Thanks To Suns
Another head coach who was let go after their team was eliminated from the 2024 playoffs is Frank Vogel. The Phoenix Suns fired him after they were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the opening round. On May 11, the team announced they would be hiring Mike Budenholzer as their new head coach. Budenholzer was the head coach for the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 when they won it all (beat the same Suns team in the NBA Finals that he will now coach).
According to Marc Stein, Phoenix contacted Ham about joining the team as an assistant coach. Ham has decided not to take on the coaching opportunity.
Phoenix recently contacted Darvin Ham, per @TheSteinLine
“League sources say Budenholzer made a run at trying to convince Darvin Ham to join his staff in Phoenix, but Ham — fired as Lakers coach on May 3 — is said to have understandably passed after two exacting seasons in… pic.twitter.com/KhJ6FTprNo
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 2, 2024
Budenholzer and Ham have history together. Ham was an assistant under Budenholzer while he was head coach of the Atlanta Hawks from 2013-14 until 2017-18. Once again, Ham was on Budenholzer’s staff with Milwaukee from 2018-19 until 2021-22. The following season, Ham was the head coach for the Lakers.
Ups And Downs During Ham’s Two Seasons With Lakers
This season saw the NBA introduce the In-Season Tournament. Ham’s Lakers were the inaugural winners of the tournament as they defeated the Indiana Pacers in the finals. The previous season, Los Angeles was able to get deep into the playoffs, all the way to the Western Conference Finals.
Both of his seasons saw his Lakers lose in the playoffs to the Denver Nuggets. They were swept in 2023, this year they were able to pull out one win to extend the series to five games in the opening round. In both seasons, Los Angeles was unable to get a guaranteed playoff spot and had to get through the Play-In Tournament.
Prior to being an assistant coach with Atlanta and Milwaukee, Ham was an assistant coach for the Lakers in 2011-12 and 2012-13. Ham also played eight seasons in the NBA and won a title with the Detroit Pistons in 2004. His two seasons as a head coach saw him finish with a 90-74 record and a 9-12 record in the postseason.
