Lakers hiring Bucks assistant Darvin Ham as next head coach

The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly hiring Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham as their next head coach.

Following a disappointing 2021-22 season, the Los Angeles Lakers opted to fire head coach Frank Vogel after three years on the job. That led to the organization conducting what would be a much-followed coaching search. One month later, the Lakers have their new sideline boss.

According to ESPN senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Lakers are hiring Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham to be their next head coach. The team is giving Ham a four-year deal, and it comes one day after they had a formal interview with him.

Lakers have their new head coach in Darvin Ham

Wojnarowski continued, saying that Ham made a strong impression in areas such as “his championship pedigree, his commanding presence, history of coaching stars and toughness.” The NBA insider also notes that Ham is expected to assemble his staff with “head coaching experience.”

Ham played in the NBA for eight seasons, most notably with the Detroit Pistons, where he was part of the NBA Championship-winning team in 2004. He then made the transition to coaching in 2008.

This will not be his first time with the Lakers, as he was an assistant from 2011 until 2013.

After his stint with the Lakers, Ham joined Mike Budenholzer’s coaching staff on the Atlanta Hawks. In 2018, Ham joined Budenholzer when he was hired by the Bucks. In his third season, Ham won the NBA Championship after the Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns in six games in the 2021 NBA Finals.

The other finalists for the Lakers’ head coach position were former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts and ex-Brooklyn Nets head coach and current Golden State Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson.