After two seasons of many ups and downs, the Los Angeles Lakers have officially fired coach Darvin Ham. The decision was made just a few days after the yellow and purple team was eliminated early in round 1 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, losing to the Denver Nuggets for the second consecutive year.
Besides Mr. Darvin Ham, the entire team of assistant coaches also said goodbye to the LA Lakers, including fitness coaches and a number of other experts.
Mr. Darvin Ham joined the Los Angeles Lakers in the summer of 2022, taking over the job from his predecessor Frank Vogel.
Success came quite early under Coach Ham’s reign when the Lakers advanced deeply in the Playoffs last season, defeating the Memphis Grizzlies and Golden State Warriors to reach the Western finals.
They only lost to the team that later won the championship, the Denver Nuggets, ending the season with a pretty good spirit.
That positivity continued into the 2023-24 season when the Lakers impressively won the NBA In-Season Tournament championship with a 7-game unbeaten record.
But right after claiming the throne in Las Vegas and hanging the championship banner on the ceiling of Crypto.com Arena, LeBron James and his teammates began to plummet. They lost 12 of the following 17 matches and almost fell freely in the Western rankings.
It wasn’t until March that the situation improved, where the Lakers won 11 of the last 14 Regular Season matches and held 8th place in the rankings with a total record of 47-35.
The Lakers then surpassed the New Orleans Pelicans in the Play-in series to enter the NBA Playoffs as the 7th seed, bringing them to a rematch with the Denver Nuggets.
However, the yellow and purple team was unable to change last year’s scenario, this time continuing to lose to the Denver Nuggets with a series score of 4-1 and saying goodbye to the 2023-24 season.
“ The past two years have been a tumultuous journey. I’m very happy about this time” , coach Darvin Ham shared right after the Lakers were eliminated in Game 5, seemingly knowing in advance that he could be fired.
The Los Angeles Lakers will soon begin searching for a new head coach for the team. The three candidates being rumored include:
– Mike Budenholzer, former Milwaukee Bucks coach, won the 2021 NBA championship.
– Kenny Atkinson, former Brooklyn Nets coach, currently Golden State Warriors assistant.
– JJ Reddick, ESPN analyst and editor, former NBA player and currently co-hosts Mind The Game podcast with LeBron James.
