LOS ANGELES, Calif. (WFRV) – The Los Angeles Lakers have hired Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham as their head coach according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Lakers had interviewed several candidates such as Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts alongside former Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson, but at the end of the day, Ham was their guy.
Ham will have a daunting task to rejuvenate the Lakers, who failed to make the playoffs despite being the preseason favorites in the Western Conference. Los Angeles was led by Frank Vogel last season, before being fired after the final game of 2022.
The former small forward will now get to work with NBA stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, while looking to return to the playoffs.
LeBron James has only played under one first-time head coach in Tyronn Lue, where they eventually went on to beat the Golden State Warriors in seven games to win the 2016 NBA Finals after trailing 1-3 in the series.