LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers have hired Darvin Ham to be their next head coach, sources have told the Los Angeles Times.
Ham, a first-time head coach, has been a longtime NBA assistant following his eight-year NBA playing career, which included a championship in 2004 with the Detroit Pistons against the Lakers.
He began his NBA coaching career with the Lakers as a player development coach in 2011 on the staff of coach Mike Brown.
Ham earned respect around the NBA as a well-rounded communicator on Mike Budenholzer’s staffs in Atlanta and Milwaukee. He won a title Budenholzer and the Bucks in 2021.
He’ll be the 28th coach in Lakers history, replacing Frank Vogel, who won a championship with the Lakers in 2020.
Ham is the second first-time coach the Lakers have hired in their last three searches. The team hired Golden State assistant Luke Walton in 2016.
Ham brings a reputation as fearless communicator with a strong presence, traits that undoubtedly will matter on a roster that currently has future Hall of Famers in LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook.
