The former LA Lakers head coach is having success as an assistant once again.
Darvin Ham was a storied assistant coach before accepting a head coaching job with the LA Lakers, which ended up being a poor move on his end. The Lakers head coaching vacancy is one only so many can handle. JJ Redick is currently learning such the hard way.
Ham has since returned to the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant, and he’s making his impact on Doc Rivers’ staff. He just helped them to an NBA Cup title win, which means he’s undefeated in the tournament across the two teams he’s been with.
The coach feels as if he did a great job with the Lakers, too, as he won the tournament and also took his team to the Western Conference in of his his seasons as the bench boss.
The Lakers head coaching gig isn’t one for the weak, and, quite frankly, not many can thrive in that situation. Even championship-winning coaches like Frank Vogel eventually end up being the scapegoat for any shortcomings.
Evidently, Ham did do a good job given the hand and roster he was dealt by management. He understands such and knows that how he performed would have led to better treatment from other clubs.
“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 said, via Andscape.
“I’m not talking about feelings. I’m talking actual facts. 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.
“People always talk about us losing to Denver, but they never talk about how we got to Denver. We beat a kick-ass young squad in Memphis and we beat Golden State.”
Still, any sort of underperforming from the Lakers leads to a coach being a scapegoat, because the management is clear they are not the issue, even if they are.
The Bucks have had a massive turnaround this season. They started the season 2-8 and have since won 12 of their last 15 games, though their NBA Cup title game would be 13 of their last 16 had it counted on the books.
Having an experienced coach like Ham on the bench is certainly beneficial as they navigate some controversy and hardship on the season. Milwaukee winning the NBA Cup was cause for celebration, but Ham advised Doc Rivers and the rest of the team to stray away from such, as he won with the Lakers a season ago, according to Chris Haynes.
“Bucks coach Doc Rivers told me after talking with Darvin Ham and his experience with Lakers last season, they chose not to celebrate The Cup championship with dousing and drinking of champagne,” Haynes reported. “Want to focus on the remainder of the season.”
Ham was on the bench as the Bucks won the title in 2022, and he will help Rivers try and lead the club to do the same thing this season.
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