Fresh from winning his second NBA Cup tournament, Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham reflected on his stint as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and responded to the criticisms on his rotation decisions during his time with the Purple and Gold.
Talking to Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Ham responded to reports and questions about his lineups and rotations when he was the Lakers’ head coach, citing LeBron James’ age and Anthony Davis’ injury history as factors that influenced his strategies.
“It’s being reported like I’m just throwing some lineups up against the wall to see what sticks. No man, we were really navigating a lot from guys being hurt to having the oldest player in the league (James) to navigating A.D.’s injury history. It was a lot,” Ham said.
“Some of the [redacted] that was coming out? Wow, bro I don’t know X’s and O’s? I was winging it. Dude, that was the most disappointing stuff, how mean and so much stuff people are saying online. The best thing I could do was block out the outside noise,” the 51-year-old coach added.
According to Basketball Reference, the Lakers used 39 different starting lineups in the 2022-23 season. LeBron James, then 38 years old, averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists in 35.5 minutes per game, carrying the team that season when Anthony Davis could only appear in 56 games.
In Ham’s second season with the Lakers, he used 19 different starting lineups. James played in 71 games, while Davis appeared in 76.
Over the two seasons, Ham had a middling 90-74 record with the Lakers, including a 9-12 playoff record and a Western Conference finals appearance in 2023. The Lakers fired him in May 2024, replacing him with JJ Redick.
Darvin Ham is a two-time NBA Cup champ
Darvin Ham can call himself a back-to-back NBA Cup champion following the Milwaukee Bucks’ victory in the in-season tournament. He first won the inaugural tournament last year as the Lakers’ head coach; this time he captured the title as the top assistant under coach Doc Rivers.
Two months after the Lakers fired him, the Bucks acquired Ham’s services as their assistant coach. Despite his firing, Ham expressed no animosity toward his former team.
“There is no ill will from me. Their situation is what it is,” Ham said.
Ham and the Bucks are scheduled to host the Lakers on March 13, 2025, and five days after that game, it would be their turn to visit Los Angeles.
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Dan has been active in sports since 2016 and has worked behind the scenes as a scriptwriter for basketball, volleyball, and other sports. At a time, Dan has also been working as a sports commentator for CBA Pilipinas. During the pandemic, he has also been actively writing betting articles for CashBet and BetNow.
